Identification of a New HCV Subtype 6xg Among Injection Drug Users in Kachin, Myanmar

Frontiers in Microbiology

Xin Chen¹  Yong-Tang Zheng²  Yu Wang²  Mei Ye⁴  Chiyu Zhang⁵  Lin Duo⁶ 

[1] Department of Pathogenic Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, China;KIZ-SU Joint Laboratory of Animal Model and Drug Development, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Soochow University, Suzhou, China;Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, The National Kunming High Level Biosafety Research Center for Nonhuman Primate, KIZ-CUHK Joint Laboratory of Bioresources and Molecular Research in Common Diseases, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China;Kunming College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China;Pathogen Discovery and Big Data Center, CAS Key Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Immunology, Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China;Yunnan Fuwai Cardiovascular Hospital, Kunming, China;

关键词: hepatitis C virus;    injection drug users;    subtype;    HCV 6xg;    Myanmar;    Yunnan;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fmicb.2019.00814

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Characterizing hepatitis C virus (HCV) genetic diversity not only allows us to trace its origin and evolutionary history, but also provides valuable insights into diagnosis, prevention and therapy of HCV infection. Although eight HCV genotypes and 86 subtypes have been classified, there are still some HCV variants that need to be assigned. The genotype 6 is the most diverse HCV genotype and mainly prevalent in Southeast Asia. In this study, we identified a new HCV subtype 6xg from injection drug users (IDUs) in Kachin, Myanmar. A distinctive feature of 6xg from other subtypes of the genotype 6 was a Lys insertion in NS5A gene, which changes the RRKR/K motif into RRKKR/K. Bayesian analyses showed that HCV 6xg originated during 1984–1988, and experienced a rapid population expansion during 2005–2009. We characterized HCV subtype profile among IDUs in this region, and detected six HCV subtypes, including 1a (12.0%), 3a (12.0%), 3b (24.0%), 6n (16.0%), 6xa (20.0%), and 6xg (12.0%). Importantly, we found that HCV subtype distribution in Kachin was very similar to that in Dehong prefecture of Yunnan, but very distinct from those in other regions of Myanmar and Yunnan, indicating that the China–Myanmar border region shared a unique HCV subtype pattern. The appearance of 6xg and the unique HCV subtype profile among IDUs in the China–Myanmar border region have significant epidemiological and public health implications.

【 授权许可】

Unknown