Research in the area of hepatitis B virus reported from L. Chen and colleagues
2009 JUL 13 - (NewsRx.com) -- In this recent report published in the Journal of Hepatology, researchers in Shanghai, People's Republic of China conducted a study "To investigate dynamic changes of hepatitis B virus (HBV) quasispecies within the reverse transcriptase (RT) region during the early stage of lamivudine treatment and the correlation with antiviral efficacy. Twenty-five chronic hepatitis B patients received lamivudine treatment for 48 weeks." "Fourteen patients responded to lamivudine, while eleven patients were non-responders. HBV DNA was extracted from serum samples at baseline and week 4. The RT region of HBV was amplified, then cloned and sequenced. Quasispecies complexity and diversity within the RT region were analyzed at baseline and week 4, and viral nucleotide substitution rates during the first 4 weeks were calculated. The quasispecies complexity and diversity were not different between responders and non-responders at baseline (p > 0.05). However, the quasispecies complexity and diversity of responders were significantly lower than those of non-responders at week 4 (p < 0.01). Furthermore, the viral nucleotide substitution rate of responders was significantly higher than that of non-responders (p < 0.05). The dynamic changes of HBV quasispecies within the RT region showed distinct patterns between responders and non-responders during early stage of lamivudine treatment," wrote L. Chen and colleagues. The researchers concluded: "The dynamic changes of quasispecies complexity and diversity during the first 4 weeks were correlated with lamivudine antiviral efficacy and antiviral resistance." Chen and colleagues published their study in the Journal of Hepatology (Early changes of hepatitis B virus quasispecies during lamivudine treatment and the correlation with antiviral efficacy. Journal of Hepatology, 2009;50(5):895-905). For additional information, contact M.B. Wan, Military Med College 2, Changhai Hospital, Dept. of Infectious Disease, Shanghai, People's Republic of China. The publisher's contact information for the Journal of Hepatology is: Elsevier Science BV, PO Box 211, 1000 AE Amsterdam, Netherlands. Keywords: People's Republic of China, Shanghai, Antiviral, Chronic Hepatitis B, DNA, Drugs, Enzyme Research, Enzymes, Enzymology, Gastroenterology, HBV, Hepatitis B Virus, Hepatology, Infectious Disease, Lamivudine, Pharmaceuticals, Proteins, Proteomics, Reverse Transcriptase, Transcriptase, Treatment, Viral Inhibition, Viral Therapy, Virology. This article was prepared by Hepatitis Weekly editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2009, Hepatitis Weekly via NewsRx.com.
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