Liu Chen-Hua, Chen Bing-Fang, Chen Shu-Ching, Lai Ming-Yang, Kao Jia-Horng, Chen Ding-Shinn
Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Yun-Lin Branch, Taiwan.
Clin Infect Dis. 2006 May 1;42(9):1254-9. doi: 10.1086/503040. Epub 2006 Mar 31.
Little is known about the transmission of variant hepatitis C virus (HCV) genome through needlestick injuries.
To demonstrate how HCV quasi species are transmitted and adapt to the new host in acute resolving infection, we analyzed the nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences of the hypervariable region 1 (HVR-1) in the E2 domain of HCV in both the source of the virus ("donor") and the person who received the virus through a needlestick accident ("recipient"). In addition, we also performed phylogenetic analysis of HCV quasi species in these patients to document the viral transmission.
We obtained a total of 33 clones at different time points by using polymerase chain reaction amplification and cloning and sequencing of HVR-1. A predominant HVR-1 variant (in 4 of 10 isolates) in the donor was not present in the recipient 6 and 14 weeks after the accident. In contrast, a minor variant (in 1 of 10 isolates) in the donor became the predominant strain in the recipient 6 weeks (in 10 of 12 isolates) and 14 weeks (in 6 of 11 isolates) after the accident. Additional phylogenetic analysis showed high homology of nucleotide sequences between isolates obtained from the donor and isolates obtained from the recipient. In addition, the variants in the recipient's virus showed substantial genetic preservation in the course of acute resolving hepatitis.
These data suggested that a minor HCV variant from a donor was transmitted to the recipient through a needlestick injury and that it prevailed as the dominant species. The preserved genetic homogeneity of the transmitted viral variants in patients with acute HCV infection may account for their clinical outcomes of resolving hepatitis.
关于变异丙型肝炎病毒（HCV）基因组通过针刺伤传播的情况，人们了解甚少。
为了证明HCV准种在急性感染消退过程中是如何传播并适应新宿主的，我们分析了病毒来源者（“供体”）和通过针刺事故感染病毒者（“受体”）体内HCV E2结构域高变区1（HVR-1）的核苷酸及推导的氨基酸序列。此外，我们还对这些患者体内的HCV准种进行了系统发育分析，以记录病毒传播情况。
通过聚合酶链反应扩增、克隆和测序HVR-1，我们在不同时间点共获得了33个克隆。事故发生6周和14周后，受体体内不存在供体中一种主要的HVR-1变异体（10个分离株中有4个）。相反，供体中一种次要变异体（10个分离株中有1个）在事故发生6周（12个分离株中有10个）和14周（11个分离株中有6个）后成为受体中的主要毒株。进一步的系统发育分析表明，供体分离株和受体分离株的核苷酸序列具有高度同源性。此外，受体病毒中的变异体在急性肝炎消退过程中显示出显著的基因保守性。
这些数据表明，供体中的一种次要HCV变异体通过针刺伤传播给了受体，并成为优势毒株。急性HCV感染患者中传播的病毒变异体保留的基因同质性可能解释了他们肝炎消退的临床结局。
