Evolution of Hepatitis B Virus Receptor NTCP Reveals Differential Pathogenicities and Species Specificities of Hepadnaviruses in Primates, Rodents, and Bats.

ABSTRACT: Human hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a global health problem, affecting more than 250 million people worldwide. HBV-like viruses, named orthohepadnaviruses, also naturally infect nonhuman primates, rodents, and bats, but their pathogenicity and evolutionary history are unclear. Here, we determined the evolutionary history of the HBV receptors NTCP and GPC5 over millions of years of primate, rodent, and bat evolution. We use this as a proxy to understand the pathogenicity of orthohepadnaviruses in mammalian hosts and to determine the implications for species specificity. We found that NTCP, but not GPC5, has evolved under positive selection in primates (27 species), rodents (18 species), and bats (21 species) although at distinct residues. Notably, the positively selected codons map to the HBV-

SUBMITTER: Jacquet S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6384064 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature