“Reportedly known Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)-associated Hepatitis B virus (HBV) pre-S mutants among genotype F1b and A2 -but not F4-isolates from Argentina”

TRINKS J, FRÍAS S, FRIDER B, ALESSIO A, POZZATI M, DALEOSO G, LEÓN L,

JOURNAL OF VIRAL HEPATITIS.

WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2012

1352-0504

Prevalence rates of HCC-associated HBV pre-S mutants among most genotypes are still lacking. In this study, viral (sub)-genotypes of 70 Argentine nucleotide sequences (33 newly obtained) were determined by phylogenetic analysis and the presence of such mutants was assessed in the American continent for the first time. Nucleotide substitutions of the pre-S2 start codon were observed in 10% of the HBV/A2 sequences. Ten percent of the HBV/A2 and 12.5% of the HBV/F1b –but none of HBV/F4- exhibited a deletion in the pre-S1/pre-S2 region. The contribution of these variants to liver cirrhosis (LC) and/or HCC development among HBV/F and HBV/A isolates deserves further prospective clinical studies.genotypes are still lacking. In this study, viral (sub)-genotypes of 70 Argentine nucleotide sequences (33 newly obtained) were determined by phylogenetic analysis and the presence of such mutants was assessed in the American continent for the first time. Nucleotide substitutions of the pre-S2 start codon were observed in 10% of the HBV/A2 sequences. Ten percent of the HBV/A2 and 12.5% of the HBV/F1b –but none of HBV/F4- exhibited a deletion in the pre-S1/pre-S2 region. The contribution of these variants to liver cirrhosis (LC) and/or HCC development among HBV/F and HBV/A isolates deserves further prospective clinical studies.