Molecular cloning and sequencing of the Mexico isolate of hepatitis E virus (HEV)

Partial sequence comparison of eight new Chinese strains of hepatitis E virus suggests the genome sequence is relatively stable

Partial genomic sequences representing 420 nucleotides of a nonstructional region, 480 nucleotides of the putative RNA polymerase region, and 540 nucleotides of the structural region of epidemic-associated Chinese strains of hepatitis E virus (HEV) were obtained by direct sequencing of PCR-amplified DNA. Comparison with previously published HEV sequences showed a clear relatedness of all Chinese strains to each other and to a Pakistani strain (Sar-55). All eight Chinese strains examined had very similar sequences (98.5-99.8% homology) in the regions examined and were much closer to the Pakistani strain (Sar-55) (97.9-98.4% homology) than to the Burmese strain (92.5-93.3% homology). Sequence comparisons of the three genomic regions in the Chinese strains indicated that the RNA polymerase region was much more conserved than the other nonstructural region or the structural region. HEV isolates from three remote geographic regions of China had sequences closely related to each other.

The sequence of hepatitis E virus isolated directly from a single source during an outbreak in China

In this study an IgM antibody-mediated antigen-capture procedure for direct extraction of hepatitis E virus (HEV) RNA from clinical specimens was developed and used with an efficient method for generating viral cDNA that was subsequently sequenced using the dideoxy chain termination method. This is the first time the complete HEV genome has been isolated directly from a single human clinical specimen obtained during an outbreak of enterically transmitted non-A, non-B hepatitis. When the Chinese-derived sequence was compared with the original isolate of Burmese HEV from an experimentally infected cynomolgus macaque, the homology between the two sequences was 94% and 98.5% at the nucleotide and amino acid levels, respectively. The methods we developed for generating and sequencing genomic HEV cDNA dramatically improved the efficiency of cloning the viral genome and should be helpful for continued analysis of this virus as well as other RNA viruses that have proven to be difficult to clone and sequence directly.

Mapping of linear B cell epitopes on open reading frames 2- and 3-encoded proteins of hepatitis E virus using synthetic peptides

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is the causative agent of non-A, non-B hepatitis which is transmitted by the fecal-oral route and occurs principally in the form of large epidemics and outbreaks in developing countries. Two overlapping synthetic peptides corresponding to overlapping DNA sequences of the ORF 3 of HEV genome were found to be immunoreactive with sera from patients involved in two epidemics of enterically transmitted non-A, non-B hepatitis. The results suggested the existence of two distinct epitopes. The four synthetic peptides representing these two epitopes from Burma and Mexico strains of hepatitis E virus, were used to investigate anti-HEV reactivities. HEV antibodies were detected in 84-88% of HEV-infected individuals according to the peptide used. The results suggest that a peptide-based ELISA can provide an accurate tool for the diagnosis of acute hepatitis type E.

Molecular organization and replication of hepatitis E virus (HEV)

The recently characterized fecal-orally transmitted agent of hepatitis E (formerly known as enterically transmitted non-A, non-B hepatitis) has been determined to be a new type of positive strand RNA virus. The complete sequencing of four different geographic isolates of the hepatitis E virus (HEV) has confirmed a similar genetic organization not previously recognized in nonenveloped positive strand RNA viruses. The approximately 7.5 kb RNA genome (including polyA tail) has nonstructural genes located at the 5' end and structural genes at the 3' end. Expression of these viral genes occurs in at least 3 different forward open reading frames. The largest open reading frame begins 27 nucleotides (nt) downstream of the apparent noncoding 5' end and extends 5,079 nt. Multiple nonstructural gene motifs/domains have been recognized in this 5' ORF1 including a methyltransferase, a papain-like protease, a helicase and the RNA-dependent, RNA polymerase. The second major ORF2 begins 37nt downstream of ORF1 and extends 1980 nt before terminating 65 nt upstream of the polyadenylation site. A third ORF of only 369 nt was identified by immunoscreening experiments as encoding an immunogenic epitope of the virus. Expression of the downstream ORF2 may occur through internal subgenomic RNA initiation at a sequence element found to have homology to internal RNA initiation sequences in Sindbis virus. This element in the HEV genome maps near the apparent 5' end of one of two identified subgenomic messages. The genomic organization and expression of HEV will be discussed and a hypothesis presented regarding the viral replication strategy.