Erker J C, Desai S M, Schlauder G G, Dawson G J, Mushahwar I K
J Gen Virol. 1999 Mar;80 ( Pt 3):681-690. doi: 10.1099/0022-1317-80-3-681.
The partial sequence of a hepatitis E virus (HEV-US1) isolated from a patient in the United States (US), suffering from acute viral hepatitis with no known risk factors for acquiring HEV, has been reported. These sequences were significantly different from previously characterized HEV isolates, alluding to the existence of a distinct human variant. In this paper, we report the near full-length sequences of HEV-US1 and a second US isolate (HEV-US2). HEV-US2 was identified in a US patient suffering from acute viral hepatitis. These sequences verify the presence of a new HEV strain in North America and provide information as to the degree of variability between variants. The HEV-US nucleotide sequences are 92% identical to each other and only 74% identical to the Burmese and Mexican strains. Amino acid and phylogenetic analyses also demonstrate that the US isolates are genetically distinct, suggesting the presence of three genotypes of HEV. Serum from the second US patient induced hepatitis following inoculation into a cynomolgus macaque. Within 2-4 weeks, HEV-US2 RNA was detectable in both the serum and faecal material coinciding with elevated serum alanine transaminase levels. Infection resolved as antibody titres increased 8 weeks post-inoculation.
已报道了从一名美国患者身上分离出的戊型肝炎病毒（HEV-US1）的部分序列。该患者患有急性病毒性肝炎，且无已知的感染戊型肝炎病毒的风险因素。这些序列与先前鉴定的戊型肝炎病毒分离株有显著差异，暗示存在一种独特的人类变异株。在本文中，我们报道了HEV-US1和另一株美国分离株（HEV-US2）的近乎全长序列。HEV-US2是在一名患有急性病毒性肝炎的美国患者中鉴定出来的。这些序列证实了北美存在一种新的戊型肝炎病毒株，并提供了关于不同变异株之间变异程度的信息。HEV-US的核苷酸序列彼此之间有92%的同一性，与缅甸和墨西哥毒株只有74%的同一性。氨基酸和系统发育分析也表明，美国的分离株在基因上是不同的，这表明存在三种戊型肝炎病毒基因型。将第二名美国患者的血清接种到食蟹猴体内后引发了肝炎。在2至4周内，血清和粪便中均可检测到HEV-US2 RNA，同时血清丙氨酸转氨酶水平升高。接种8周后，随着抗体滴度增加，感染得到缓解。
