Brief Article
Copyright ©2012 Baishideng Publishing Group Co., Limited. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Mar 7, 2012; 18(9): 965-970
Published online Mar 7, 2012. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v18.i9.965
Genetic characteristics and pathogenicity of human hepatitis E virus in Nanjing, China
Jia-Bao Geng, Mao-Rong Wang, Ling Wang, Jie Wang, Zhi-Guo Yang, Yan Cheng, Fei Qiao, Min Wang
Jia-Bao Geng, Mao-Rong Wang, Jie Wang, Zhi-Guo Yang, Yan Cheng, Fei Qiao, Min Wang, Institute of Liver Disease, Nanjing Bayi Hospital, Nanjing 210002, Jiangsu Province, China
Ling Wang, Department of Microbiology, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing 100091, China
Author contributions: Geng JB and Wang MR contributed equally to this work; Geng JB and Wang MR designed the research and wrote the manuscript; Wang L, Wang J, Yang ZG and Cheng Y performed the research; Qiao F, Wang M analyzed the data.
Supported by The 863 National High Technology Research and Development Program of China, No. 2006A02Z453; the National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 30570063
Correspondence to: Mao-Rong Wang, MD, Professor, Institute of Liver Disease, Nanjing Bayi Hospital, Nanjing 210002, Jiangsu Province, China. maorongwang@gmail.com
Telephone: +86-25-80864021 Fax: +86-25-84546576
Received: June 18, 2011
Revised: November 10, 2011
Accepted: December 16, 2011
Published online: March 7, 2012
Abstract

AIM: To investigate the genetic characteristics and pathogenicity of hepatitis E virus (HEV) and assess the potential risk factors for sporadic hepatitis E.

METHODS: Sixty-two serum samples from the patients with acute hepatitis E were collected, including 23 cases coinfected with hepatitis B virus. Anti-HEV detection and partial HEV RNA amplification were performed by enzyme immunoassays and reverse transcription-nested polymerase chain reaction (RT-nPCR) method, respectively, and PCR products were sequenced. The isolated human HEV sequences were analyzed phylogenetically.

RESULTS: The positive rate of serum HEV RNA were 21.0% (13/62), including 5 cases of liver failure. All the 13 isolates shared a 82.1%-98.0% nucleotide homology with each other and had identities of 74.7%-81.0%, 75.3%-78.6%, 75.3%-80.0% and 82.1%-96.1% with the corresponding regions of HEV genotypes 1-4, respectively. The human HEV strain GS-NJ-12 shared a 100% nucleotide identity with the swine HEV strain swIM6-43 isolated from Inner Mongolia, China.

CONCLUSION: Swine may be a principal risk factor for occurrence of sporadic hepatitis E in eastern China, and genotype 4 HEV can induce acute liver failure.

Keywords: Genotype, Hepatitis E virus, Liver failure, Zoonotic transmission, Pathogenicity