Elsevier

Journal of Clinical Virology

Volume 82, September 2016, Pages 27-32
Journal of Clinical Virology

PreS deletion profiles of hepatitis B virus (HBV) are associated with clinical presentations of chronic HBV infection

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcv.2016.06.018Get rights and content

Highlights

  • HBV preS1 deletion had a closer relationship with liver cirrhosis.

  • HBV preS2 deletion had a closer relationship with hepatocellular carcinoma.

  • Clinical relevance is with both occurrence and pattern of the preS deletion.

  • PreS1- and preS2-deletion mutants had individual virological feature alterations.

Abstract

Background

The association of hepatitis B virus (HBV) preS1 and preS2 deletions with progressive liver diseases are not fully understood.

Objective

The study aimed to investigate characteristics of HBV preS deletion in HBV-infected patients with different illness categories.

Study design

Total of 539 HBV-infected patients were enrolled in the study, including 146 with chronic hepatitis B (CHB), 111 with HBV-related liver cirrhosis (LC), 146 with HBV-related acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF), and 136 with HBV-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). PreS deletion was determined by sequencing. Replicons containing representative preS1 and preS2 deletion mutants and wild-type were respectively constructed and transfected into HepG2 cells for phenotypic analysis.

Results

The detection rates of overall preS deletion were 15.8%, 26.1%, 24.0%, and 34.6% in CHB, LC, ACLF, and HCC patients, respectively. PreS1 deletion was most frequently detected in LC patients while preS2 deletion was most frequently detected in HCC patients, both frequencies were significantly higher than that in CHB patients (17.1% vs. 4.8%, P < 0.01; 19.1% vs. 4.8%, P < 0.01). The deletion patterns across preS gene were different among the 4 illness categories. Compared with wild-type strain, the preS1 deletion mutant had defected preS1 expression, significantly decreased viral mRNA level and SP II promoter activity; while preS2 deletion mutant had defected preS2 expression, and significantly decreased viral mRNA level.

Conclusions

HBV preS deletion was associated with advancement of liver diseases not only presented in preS deletion incidence, but also in the deletion pattern. Patients with preS2 deletion might have a higher risk to develop HCC.

Abbreviations

HBV
hepatitis B virus
CHB
chronic hepatitis B
LC
liver cirrhosis
ACLF
acute-on-chronic liver failure
HCC
hepatocellular carcinoma

Keywords

Hepatitis B virus
PreS deletion
Liver cirrhosis
Acute-on-chronic liver failure
Hepatocellular carcinoma

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1

These authors contributed equally to this work.

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