Jpn. J. Infect. Dis., 58 (4), 244-246, 2005

To see a printable version of the article in the Adobe file format, click this [PDF] link.

Short Communication

Full-Length Sequence of Hepatitis B Virus Belonging to Genotype H Identified in a Japanese Patient with Chronic Hepatitis

Akira Nakajima1,2,3, Mitsugu Usui2, Tran Thien Tuan Huy1, Naomi Khaing Than Hlaing1, Naohiko Masaki4, Tetsutaro Sata1 and Kenji Abe1*

1Department of Pathology, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo 162-8640, 2PALMA Bee'Z Research Institute Co., Ltd., Kanagawa 210-0855, 3Sanko Junyaku Co., Ltd., Tokyo 101-0032 and 4Division of Gastroenterology, International Medical Center of Japan, Tokyo 162-8655, Japan

(Received April 18, 2005. Accepted May 30, 2005)


*Corresponding author: Mailing address: Department of Pathology, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Toyama 1-23-1, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8640, Japan. Tel: +81-3-5285-1111 ext. 2624, Fax: +81-3-5285-1189, E-mail: kenjiabe@nih.go.jp


SUMMARY: We have isolated and cloned the full-length nucleotide sequence of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) genome (denoted HBV-IM806-2) recovered from a Japanese patient with chronic hepatitis. This patient had a history of travel to Bangkok, Thailand, and then suffered the onset of acute hepatitis B 3 months after his return to Japan. The HBV-IM806-2 isolate was composed of 3,215 nucleotides and showed the highest similarity to genotype H of HBV. Interestingly, 24 amino acid residues specific for genotype H were identified throughout the full genome sequence. Furthermore, phylogenetic analysis based on the full genome sequence confirmed that IM806-2 belonged to genotype H and was more closely related to the prototype of the Los Angeles strain than to the Nicaragua strain.


Go to JJID Homepage

Go to JJID 58 (4) Contents