Naturally occurring mutations in the nonstructural region 5B of hepatitis C virus (HCV) from treatment-naive Korean patients chronically infected with HCV genotype 1b.

ABSTRACT: The nonstructural 5B (NS5B) protein of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) with RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) activity plays a pivotal role in viral replication. Therefore, monitoring of its naturally occurring mutations is very important for the development of antiviral therapies and vaccines. In the present study, mutations in the partial NS5B gene (492 bp) from 166 quasispecies of 15 genotype-1b (GT) treatment-naïve Korean chronic patients were determined and mutation patterns and frequencies mainly focusing on the T cell epitope regions were evaluated. The mutation frequency within the CD8+ T cell epitopes was significantly higher than those outside the CD8+ T cell epitopes. Of note, the mutation frequency within predicted CD4+ T cell epitopes, a particular mutational hotspot in Korean p

SUBMITTER: Kim DW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3906201 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature