title: Replication priority of hepatitis C virus genotype 2a in a Chinese cohort.
abstract: HCV genotypes have been documented in clinical practice. The aim of this study was to determine the replication priority of different HCV genotypes in a Chinese HCV positive cohort. Serum samples from 491 apparently healthy Chinese blood donors testing positive for HCV antibodies and naive to antiviral drug therapy were tested. Genotyping analysis showed that genotypes 1b and 2a were predominant and accounted for 77.6% of the HCV infections. Among the genotype groups, individuals infected with genotype 2a had an HCV RNA viral load (10(8) copies/mL) about 200-fold (lg, 2.3) greater than those infected with other genotypes (10(4)-10(5) copies/mL) indicating a replication priority of genotype 2a. However, there was no correlation between HCV genotype and antibody response suggesting that the amplification advantage of genotype 2a results from a favorable interaction with the host cellular environment. In conclusion, HCV genotypes 1b and 2a are the predominant genotypes in China and genotype 2a possesses a significant replication priority compared with the other genotypes. This suggests the existence of host cellular factors that may act as drug-targets for entirely clearing HCV infection in the future.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medicinal Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100050, China ; National Institutes for Food and Drug Control, Beijing 100050, China.
authors.forename: Zhen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: National Institutes for Food and Drug Control, Beijing 100050, China.
authors.forename: Yongxin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Langfang Blood Center, LangFang 065000, China.
authors.forename: Hongzhong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Shenzhen Blood Center, Shenzhen 518035, China.
authors.forename: Guifang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Shang
authors.affiliation: Chengdu Blood Center, Chengdu 610041, China.
authors.forename: Jialiang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medicinal Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100050, China.
authors.forename: Jian-Dong
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medicinal Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100050, China.
authors.forename: Zonggen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Peng
keywords: EDTA, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid; GPT, glutamate-pyruvate transaminase; HCV, hepatitis C virus; NS3, NS4 and NS5, non-structure protein 3, 4 and 5; RdRp, RNA dependent RNA polymerase; SVR, sustained virological response