丙型肝炎病毒感染个体的准种源于感染过程中的病毒核酸突变

目的研究丙型肝炎病毒(HCV)准种特性与感染慢性化的关系，以及个体准种特性的来源形式。方法收集HCVRNA阳性的10例急性丙肝、20例慢性丙型肝炎(丙肝)和11例肝细胞癌(HCC)患者，采用单链构型多态性分析(SSCP)方法进行HCV准种检测。结果急性丙肝、慢性丙肝和HCC患者中，SSCP电泳条带数分别为2．7±1．16、4．8±1．68和5．2±2．85。慢性丙肝和HCC的条带数显著高于急性丙肝(P＜0．05)。进行DNA序列分析研究发现，准种高变区间的变异性显著低于本地株间和异地株间的变异性(P＜0．01)。结论SSCP是检测准种相对简便而有效的方法。HCV准种特性与其感染慢性化相关。HCV感染个体准种的来源主要为感染过程中的核酸突变。

Hepatitis C viral quasispecies from infected individuals originate from the mutation of viral genome during infection

Objective To study the source of hepatitis C viral quasispecies and its relationship with chronic infection of hepatitis C virus(HCV).Methods Viral quasispecies from 10 cases of acute hepatitis C,20 cases of chronic hepatitis C and 11 cases of hepatic cellular cancer(HCC)patients with serum HCV RNA positive were detected by single-strand conformation polymorphism(SSCP)analysis.Results 2,7±1.16.4.8±1.68 and 5.2±2.85 SSCP bands were detected in the patients with acute hepatitis C,chronic hepatitis C and HCC respectively.The number of viral quasispecies in chronic hepatitis C and HCC with HCV infection were significantly higher than that in acute hepatitis C(P<0.05).The variance of high variable region in quasispecies was found to be much smaller than that in local isolates and distant isolates by DNA sequencing analysis(6.50±2.00 vs 20.33±2.31 and 24.33±4.04 respectively,P<0.01).Conclusion SSCP analysis is an efficient and relatively simple method for detection of viral quasispecies.Hepatitis C viral quasispecies are strongly related with chronic infection.The source of HCV quasispecies from infected individuals may originate from viral genome mutation during persistent infection.