Department of Clinical and Surgical Sciences, Section of Infectious Diseases, University of Foggia, 71122 Foggia, Italy.
Theoretical Biology & Biophysics Group, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87544, USA.
Viruses. 2023 Feb 6;15(2):458. doi: 10.3390/v15020458.
The study aimed to characterize the genotype and subgenotypes of HBV circulating in Saudi Arabia, the presence of clinically relevant mutations possibly associated with resistance to antivirals or immune escape phenomena, and the possible impact of mutations in the structural characteristics of HBV polymerase. Plasma samples from 12 Saudi Arabian HBV-infected patients were analyzed using an in-house PCR method and direct sequencing. Saudi patients were infected with mainly subgenotype D1. A number of mutations in the RT gene (correlated to antiviral resistance) and within and outside the major hydrophilic region of the S gene (claimed to influence immunogenicity and be related to immune escape) were observed in almost all patients. Furthermore, the presence of mutations in the S region caused a change in the tertiary structure of the protein compared with the consensus region. Clinical manifestations of HBV infection may change dramatically as a result of viral and host factors: the study of mutations and protein-associated cofactors might define possible aspects relevant for the natural and therapeutic history of HBV infection.
本研究旨在描述在沙特阿拉伯流行的乙型肝炎病毒（HBV）的基因型和亚型，以及可能与抗病毒药物耐药或免疫逃逸现象相关的临床相关突变的存在情况，同时还研究了突变对 HBV 聚合酶结构特征的可能影响。使用内部 PCR 方法和直接测序分析了来自 12 名沙特 HBV 感染患者的血浆样本。沙特患者主要感染 D1 亚基因型。几乎所有患者的 RT 基因（与抗病毒耐药相关）内和 S 基因主要亲水区域内外都观察到了一些突变（据称这些突变会影响免疫原性，并与免疫逃逸有关）。此外，S 区的突变导致蛋白质的三级结构与共识区域相比发生了变化。由于病毒和宿主因素，HBV 感染的临床表现可能会发生巨大变化：对突变和与蛋白质相关的辅助因子的研究可能会确定与 HBV 感染的自然和治疗史相关的可能方面。
