Mutations in the 3A genomic region of two cytopathic strains of hepatitis A virus isolated in Italy.

Two strains of hepatitis A virus (HAV) were isolated in cell culture and found to induce a cytopathic effect at early passages. The nucleotide sequences of the 5' non-translated region (5'NTR) and of genes 2B, 2C, 3A and 3B were determined for these strains and found to contain mutations similar to those detected in cell-culture adapted variants of HAV strain HM175. In addition, gene 3A shows a deletion of three aspartic acid residues near the N-terminus of the polypeptide. In combination with variations in the 5'NTR and in genes 2B and 2C, the absence of an aspartic acid residue in position 4 of gene 3A of three cytopathic clones of HM175 suggests a possible role of the 3A protein in determining the cytopathic phenotype.