Point mutations in E2, NS3 and NS5A of hepatitis G virus

AIM To compare the point mutation deviations of HGV among E2, NS3 and NSSA.METHODS Seven patients with hepatic diseases from Japan and China were selected for this study. RNAwas extracted and amplified by semi-nested RT-PCR; and the PCR products were sequenced directly.RESULTS The point mutation deviations of HGV ia E2, NS3 and NS5A were 10% - 17%, 11% -23%,and 0% - 5%, in nuclcotide sequences and 4% - 12%, 0%, and 0% - 6% in amino acid sequencesrespectively.CONCLUSION The frequency of variation at the nucleotide level was in the order NS3>E2>NS5A, whileat the amino acid level the order was E2 >NS5A>NS3. The detected sequences from the N-terminus of E2may be the poorly conserved region of HGV.