Hepatitis B virus (HBV) genomic variations in chronic hepatitis.

ABSTRACT

Using PCR we have examined the sequence of the pre-C/C region of HBV from sera of anti-HBe positive, chronically HBV-infected patients. The large majority of sera tested contained a mixture of heterogeneous pre-C sequences with 1-3 non-randomly located point mutations. Some of the resultant variant viruses are incapable of synthesizing immunogenic proteins and may be involved in viral persistence in chronic carrier states.