Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

INTRODUCTION: Acute hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is rarely studied, but virus sequence evolution and host-virus dynamics during this early stage may influence the outcome of infection. Hypervariable region 1 (HVR1) is genetically diverse and under selective pressure from the host immune response. We analyzed HVR1 evolution by frequent sampling of an acutely infected HCV cohort. METHODS: Three or more pretreatment samples were obtained from each of 10 acutely infected subjects. Polymerase chain reaction amplification was performed with multiple primer combinations to identify the full range of sequences present. Positive samples were cloned and sequenced. Phylogenetic analyses were used to assess viral diversity. RESULTS: Eight of the 10 subjects were coinfected with at least 2 HCV subtypes. Multiple subtypes were detected in individual samples, and their relative proportions changed through acute infection. The subjects with the most complex subtype structure also had a dynamic viral load; however, changes in viral load were not directly linked to changes in subtype. CONCLUSIONS: This well-sampled cohort with acute HCV infection was characterized by dynamic coinfection with multiple viral subtypes, representing a highly complex virologic landscape extremely early in infection.

Original publication

DOI

10.1086/657317

Type

Journal article

Journal

J Infect Dis

Publication Date

15/12/2010

Volume

202

Pages

1770 - 1779

Keywords

Adolescent, Adult, Austria, Cloning, Molecular, Female, Genotype, Hepacivirus, Hepatitis C, Host-Pathogen Interactions, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Middle Aged, Molecular Sequence Data, Polymorphism, Genetic, RNA, Viral, Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction, Sequence Analysis, DNA, Viral Envelope Proteins