Tur-Kaspa R, Klein A, Aharonson S
Division of Medicine, Hadassah University Hospital, Jerusalem, Israel.
Hepatology. 1992 Dec;16(6):1338-42. doi: 10.1002/hep.1840160606.
Hepatitis B virus carriers in Israel are mostly HBeAg negative, of whom 5% to 10% have circulating hepatitis B virus. Recently, a hepatitis B virus variant with a stop codon in the precore region was identified, and it was suggested that specific mutations are associated with fulminant or severe chronic active hepatitis. We have analyzed serum samples from HBeAg-positive and HBeAg-negative patients by polymerase chain reaction, using primers spanning the precore/core region. Nucleotide sequence analysis (by direct sequencing) from amplified hepatitis B virus DNA demonstrated that viral genomes from all HBeAg-negative patients contain G to A mutation (nucleotide 1896), leading to the formation of a stop codon. An additional G to A mutation was identified three nucleotides downstream (nucleotide 1899). These patients are of various ethnic origins, with no unique clinical characteristics and with normal liver histology, chronic hepatitis or cirrhosis. No mutation at the precore/core region was observed in the HBeAg-positive patients. In conclusion, the precore mutations identified in hepatitis B virus carriers in Israel are identical regardless of the carrier's ethnic origin and are associated with mild-to-severe liver disease.
以色列的乙肝病毒携带者大多HBeAg阴性，其中5%至10%有循环中的乙肝病毒。最近，一种在前核心区带有终止密码子的乙肝病毒变异体被鉴定出来，有人提出特定突变与暴发性或严重慢性活动性肝炎有关。我们使用跨越前核心区/核心区的引物，通过聚合酶链反应分析了HBeAg阳性和HBeAg阴性患者的血清样本。对扩增的乙肝病毒DNA进行核苷酸序列分析（直接测序）表明，所有HBeAg阴性患者的病毒基因组都存在G到A的突变（核苷酸1896），导致终止密码子的形成。在下游三个核苷酸处（核苷酸1899）还发现了另一个G到A的突变。这些患者有不同的种族背景，没有独特的临床特征，肝脏组织学正常、患有慢性肝炎或肝硬化。在HBeAg阳性患者中未观察到前核心区/核心区的突变。总之，在以色列乙肝病毒携带者中鉴定出的前核心区突变无论携带者的种族背景如何都是相同的，并且与轻至重度肝病有关。
