Is hepatitis C virus NS3 protease quasispecies heterogeneity predictive of progression from cirrhosis to hepatocellular carcinoma?
We investigated whether an HCV NS3 protease quasispecies heterogeneity was associated with progression from viral cirrhosis to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The NS3 protease quasispecies structure of 10 HCV-1b cirrhotic patients (controls) was compared with that of 10 paired HCV-1b cirrhotic patients who displayed progression to HCC (cases). NS3 protease genetic complexity and diversity did not differ significantly between cases and controls. Amino acid substitutions were detected at 20 (11%) and 25 (14%) sites in at least two variants of the NS3 protease in cases and controls, respectively. Significant differences in the percentage of substituted clones were observed for 10 NS3 sites. Mutations Y56F, I71V, T72I, Q86P, P89S, S101G/D, R117H, S122G/T/N, V132I and V170I were more frequently observed in the NS3 protease sequences of controls than in those of cases. Residue V107 was substituted in NS3 cases but not in controls. However, these differences did not allow the definition of a
Related Questions
- Is hepatitis C virus NS3 protease quasispecies heterogeneity predictive of progression from cirrhosis to hepatocellular carcinoma?
- Is antiviral treatment (IFN alpha and/or ribavirin) justified in cirrhosis related to hepatitis C virus?
- Does hepatitis C virus infection contribute to hepatocellular carcinoma in Hong Kong?
