Recent advances in molecular epidemiological methods for analyzing hepatitis C virus transmission

VernacularTitle:丙型肝炎病毒传播分子流行病学诊断技术研究进展
Author: Liping SHEN ; Shengli BI
Publication Type:Journal Article
Keywords: Hepatitis C Virus; Transmission; Quasispecies; Hypervariable region; Molecular ep-idemiology
From: Chinese Journal of Microbiology and Immunology 2016;36(10):779-782
CountryChina
Language:Chinese
Abstract: Hepatitis C virus ( HCV) infection is one of the main reasons causing liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The quasispecies composition and the evolution of HCV are very complicated. An in-depth analysis of the quasispecies composition of HCV is critical for elucidating the mechanisms of HCV transmission. The regions encoding the envelope glycoproteins (E1 and E2) and the nonstructural protein 2 (NS2) are hyper variable regions (HVR). Analyzing the quasispecies of HCV HVR with advanced sequen-cing and bio-information technologies would be beneficial for understanding the sources of HCV infection, the routes of transmission and the evolution of HCV. Currently, three generations of sequencing methods and some bio-information soft-wares are available for analyzing HCV HVR quasispecies. When an outbreak of HCV infection happens, using the new generation of sequencing and bio-information methods to seek the first case and the routes of transmission would provide scientific basis for the prevention and treatment of HCV in-fection.