Prevalence and Characteristics of Basal Core Promoter Mutations in Iran and its Correlation with Acute and Chronic Hepatitis B Infection.
BACKGROUND
Manifestations of HBV infection differ in chronic and acute phases. Therefore, identifying the determinants such as mutations has a vital role in the treatment of the disease. A dual transversion in the basal core promoter (BCP) region is common among HBV patients. Thus, the present study was conducted with the objective of determining the prevalence of basal core promoter (BCP) mutations and its correlation with the outcome of HBV infection.


METHODS
In this cross-sectional study, samples were obtained from 182 Iranian HBsAg positive patients who were admitted to the Bandar Abbas Blood Transfusion Organization in 2012 and 2013. They were screened by ELISA test using commercial kits to detect serological marker anti-HBc IgM for distinct chronic hepatitis from acute infection. Thereafter, the extracted DNA was used for determination of the BCP mutations by PCR-RFLP technique. Data analyses were performed with SPSS 12 by Mann-Whitney U test, Fisher's exact probability test, and t-test.


RESULTS
BCP mutations were observed in 15 samples (8.24%) of the study population, and serological tests determined that, among the BCP mutants, one sample (6.67%) was HBeAg positive, 14 samples (93.33%) were HBeAg negative, and four samples (2.2%) were positive for anti-HBc IgM test. Data analysis indicated a statistically significant association between BCP mutations and acute hepatitis (p=0.002). However, no relationship was detected between the prevalences of the BCP mutations and gender of subjects (p>0.567).


CONCLUSIONS
The prevalence of BCP variants was low in the south of Iran, and this mutation can lead to acute phase of viral hepatitis.
M.Sc., Pharmaceutical Sciences Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
Sadegh
S
Nasrollaheian
MD., Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Iran.
Gholamreza
G
Farshidfar
Ph.D., Department of Virology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Ali Kargar
AK
Kheirabad
Ph.D., Molecular Medicine Research Center, Hormozgan Health Institute, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran.
Hamed
H
Gouklani
Acute hepatitis B; Basal core promoter; Chronic hepatitis B; Epidemiology