title: Quasispecies dynamics in hepatitis C liver  transplant recipients receiving grafts from  hepatitis C virus infected donors.
abstract: The allocation of liver grafts from hepatitis C virus (HCV)-positive donors in HCV-infected liver transplant (LT) recipients leads to infection with two different viral populations. In a previous study, we examined quasispecies dynamics during reinfection by clonal sequencing, which did not allow an accurate characterization of coexistence and competition events. To overcome this limitation, here we used deep-sequencing analysis of a fragment of the HCV NS5B gene in six HCV-infected LT recipients who received HCV-infected grafts. Successive expansions and contractions of quasispecies complexity were observed, evolving in all cases towards a more homogeneous population. The population that became dominant was the one displaying the highest mutant spectrum complexity. In four patients, coexistence of minority mutants, derived from the donor or the recipient, were detected. In conclusion, our study shows that, during reinfection with a different HCV strain in LT recipients, the viral population with the highest diversity always becomes dominant.
authors.affiliation: Liver Unit, Hospital Clínic, IDIBAPS, CIBERehd, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Sofía
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pérez-Del-Pulgar
authors.affiliation: Liver Unit, Lab. Malalties Hepàtiques, Vall d'Hebron Institut de Recerca, Hospital Vall d'Hebron, CIBERehd, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.|Roche Diagnostics, Sant Cugat del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Josep
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gregori
authors.affiliation: Biochemistry Department, Vall d'Hebron Institut de Recerca, Hospital Vall d'Hebron, CIBERehd, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Frías
authors.affiliation: Liver Unit, Hospital Clínic, IDIBAPS, CIBERehd, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: González
authors.affiliation: Liver Unit, Lab. Malalties Hepàtiques, Vall d'Hebron Institut de Recerca, Hospital Vall d'Hebron, CIBERehd, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Damir
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: García-Cehic
authors.affiliation: Liver Unit, Hospital Clínic, IDIBAPS, CIBERehd, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Santseharay
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ramírez
authors.affiliation: Liver Unit, Lab. Malalties Hepàtiques, Vall d'Hebron Institut de Recerca, Hospital Vall d'Hebron, CIBERehd, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Rosario
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Casillas
authors.affiliation: Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (CSIC-UAM), Campus de Cantoblanco, CIBERehd, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Esteban
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Domingo
authors.affiliation: Liver Unit, Lab. Malalties Hepàtiques, Vall d'Hebron Institut de Recerca, Hospital Vall d'Hebron, CIBERehd, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Juan I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Esteban
authors.affiliation: Liver Unit, Hospital Clínic, IDIBAPS, CIBERehd, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Forns
authors.affiliation: Liver Unit, Lab. Malalties Hepàtiques, Vall d'Hebron Institut de Recerca, Hospital Vall d'Hebron, CIBERehd, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Josep
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Quer
mesh_terms: D015967:Gene Expression Regulation, Viral; D005838:Genotype; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000628:therapy* / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000821:virology; D016031:Liver Transplantation; D056265:Microbial Interactions / Q000235:genetics; D009154:Mutation; D010802:Phylogeny; D014019:Tissue Donors; D017361:Viral Nonstructural Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012324:RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase
chemical_list: D017361:Viral Nonstructural Proteins; C087036:NS-5 protein, hepatitis C virus; D012324:RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase