Ultradeep Sequencing for Detection of Quasispecies Variants in the Major Hydrophilic Region of Hepatitis B Virus in Indonesian Patients

• Published in: Journal of clinical microbiology 2015-10, Vol.53 (10), p.3165-3175
• Main Authors: Yamani, Laura Navika, Yano, Yoshihiko, Utsumi, Takako, Juniastuti, Wandono, Hadi, Widjanarko, Doddy, Triantanoe, Ari, Wasityastuti, Widya, Liang, Yujiao, Okada, Rina, Tanahashi, Toshihito, Murakami, Yoshiki, Azuma, Takeshi, Soetjipto, Lusida, Maria Inge, Hayashi, Yoshitake
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Amino Acid Substitution; Female; Gene Frequency; Genetic Variation; Hepatitis B - virology; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens - genetics; Hepatitis B virus - classification; Hepatitis B virus - genetics; Hepatitis B virus - isolation & purification; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing - methods; Humans; Indonesia; Male; Middle Aged; Sequence Analysis, DNA - methods; Virology
• ISSN: 0095-1137; 1098-660X
• DOI: 10.1128/JCM.00602-15

Quasispecies of hepatitis B virus (HBV) with variations in the major hydrophilic region (MHR) of the HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) can evolve during infection, allowing HBV to evade neutralizing antibodies. These escape variants may contribute to chronic infections. In this study, we looked for MHR variants in HBV quasispecies using ultradeep sequencing and evaluated the relationship between these variants and clinical manifestations in infected patients. We enrolled 30 Indonesian patients with hepatitis B infection (11 with chronic hepatitis and 19 with advanced liver disease). The most common subgenotype/subtype of HBV was B3/adw (97%). The HBsAg titer was lower in patients with advanced liver disease than that in patients with chronic hepatitis. The MHR variants were grouped based on the percentage of the viral population affected: major, ≥20% of the total population; intermediate, 5% to