High Frequency of Either Altered Pre-Core StartCodon or Weakened Kozak Sequence in the CorePromoter Region in Hepatitis B Virus A1 Strainsfrom Rwanda.

ABSTRACT: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is endemic in Rwanda and is a major etiologic agent for chronic liver disease in the country. In a previous analysis of HBV strains from Rwanda, the S genes of most strains segregated into one single clade of subgenotype, A1. More than half (55%) of the anti-HBe positive individuals were viremic. In this study, 23 complete HBV genomes and the core promoter region (CP) from 18 additional strains were sequenced. Phylogenetic analysis of complete genomes confirmed that most Rwandan strain formed a single unique clade, within subgenotype A1. Strains from 17 of 22 (77%) anti-HBe positive HBV carriers had either mutated the precore start codon (9 strains with either CUG, ACG, UUG, or AAG) or mutations in the Kozak sequence preceding the pre-core start codon (8 strains). T

SUBMITTER: Norder H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6471190 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature