Kojima Yoko, Kawahata Takuya, Mori Haruyo, Furubayashi Keiichi, Taniguchi Yasushi, Itoda Ichiro, Komano Jun
1 Department of Infectious Diseases, Osaka Prefectural Institute of Public Health , Osaka, Japan .
2 Sonezaki Furubayashi Clinic , Osaka, Japan .
AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses. 2015 Jul;31(7):760-7. doi: 10.1089/AID.2014.0281. Epub 2015 May 4.
The rare hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotype G (HBV/G) coinfects HIV-1-positive individuals along with HBV/A and generates recombinants. However, the circulation of HBV A/G recombinants remains poorly understood. This molecular epidemiologic study examined HBV A/G recombinants in Japanese HIV-1-positive men who have sex with men (MSM). Initially, blood specimens submitted for confirmatory tests of HIV infection in Osaka and Tokyo, Japan, from 2006 to 2013 were examined for HIV-1, and HIV-1-positive specimens were screened for HBV. Among 817 specimens from HIV-1-positive individuals, HBsAg was detected in 59 specimens; of these, HBV/Ae (alternatively A2), a subgenotype of HBV/A prevalent in Europe and North America, was identified in 70.2%, HBV/C in 17.5%, and HBV/G in 10.5%, and HBV/E in 1.8% according to the core gene sequence. The full-length genome analysis of HBV was performed on HBV/G-positive specimens because some HBV A/G recombinants were historically overlooked by genotyping based on a partial genome analysis. It revealed that five of the specimens contained novel Ae/G recombinants, the core gene of which had a high sequence similarity to HBV/G. Detailed analyses showed that novel recombinants were coinfected with HBV/Ae in a recombinant-dominant fashion. No major drug-resistant mutations were found in the newly identified HBV Ae/G recombinants. Some of the individuals asymptomatically coinfected with HIV/HBV suffered mild liver injury. This study demonstrated that novel Ae/G HBV recombinants were identified in Japanese HIV-1-positive MSM. The pathogenicity of novel HBV Ae/G recombinants should be examined in a future longitudinal study. Surveillance of such viruses in HIV-1-positive individuals should be emphasized.
罕见的乙型肝炎病毒（HBV）基因型G（HBV/G）与HBV/A一起感染HIV-1阳性个体并产生重组体。然而，HBV A/G重组体的传播情况仍知之甚少。这项分子流行病学研究调查了日本男男性行为者（MSM）中的HIV-1阳性个体中的HBV A/G重组体。最初，对2006年至2013年期间在日本大阪和东京提交用于HIV感染确证检测的血液标本进行HIV-1检测，并对HIV-1阳性标本进行HBV筛查。在817份HIV-1阳性个体的标本中，59份检测到HBsAg；其中，根据核心基因序列，在欧洲和北美流行的HBV/A亚型HBV/Ae（又称A2）占70.2%，HBV/C占17.5%，HBV/G占10.5%，HBV/E占1.8%。对HBV/G阳性标本进行了HBV全长基因组分析，因为一些HBV A/G重组体在历史上曾因基于部分基因组分析的基因分型而被忽视。结果显示，其中5份标本含有新型Ae/G重组体，其核心基因与HBV/G具有高度序列相似性。详细分析表明，新型重组体以重组体占主导的方式与HBV/Ae共同感染。在新鉴定的HBV Ae/G重组体中未发现主要的耐药突变。一些HIV/HBV无症状共同感染个体出现轻度肝损伤。这项研究表明，在日本HIV-1阳性MSM中鉴定出了新型Ae/G HBV重组体。新型HBV Ae/G重组体的致病性应在未来的纵向研究中进行检查。应加强对HIV-1阳性个体中此类病毒的监测。
