Abstract
The hepatitis C virus (HCV) has remarkable genetic diversity and exists as eight genotypes (1 to 8) with distinct geographic distributions. No complete genome sequence of HCV subtype 2b (HCV-2b) is available from Latin American countries, and the factors underlying its emergence and spread within the continent remain unknown. The present study was conducted to determine the first full-length genomic sequences of HCV-2b isolates from Latin America and reconstruct the spatial and temporal diversification of this subtype in Brazil. Nearly complete HCV-2b genomes isolated from two Brazilian patients were obtained by direct sequencing of long PCR fragments and analyzed together with reference sequences using the Bayesian coalescent and phylogeographic framework approaches. The two HCV-2b genomes were 9318 nucleotides (nt) in length (nt 37–9354). Interestingly, the long RT-PCR technique was able to detect co-circulation of viral variants that contained an in-frame deletion of 2022 nt encompassing E1, E2, and p7 proteins. Spatiotemporal reconstruction analyses suggest that HCV-2b had a single introduction in Brazil during the early 1980s, displaying an epidemic history characterized by a low and virtually constant population size until the present time. These results coincide with epidemiological data in Brazil and may explain the low national prevalence of this subtype.
Highlights
The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a single-stranded positive-sense RNA virus belonging to the Flaviviridae family and is the leading etiologic agent of chronic liver disease [1]
HCV subtype 2b (HCV-2b) isolates were obtained from two patients referred to the Gaffrée & Guinle University
The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of Oswaldo Cruz Institute and informed consent was obtained from both patients
Summary
The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a single-stranded positive-sense RNA virus belonging to the Flaviviridae family and is the leading etiologic agent of chronic liver disease [1]. Viruses 2019, 11, 1000 been detected in patient sera and liver tissues [4,5,6,7,8,9]. These subgenomic HCV species, believed to be generated from the full-length viral genome through polymerase errors, can be transpackaged into infectious virions in the presence of a wild-type virus [5]. Their biological roles are yet to be established
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