Research Information System
Turkish Journal of Gastroenterology, vol.8, no.3, pp.277-282, 1997 (SCI-Expanded)
Mutations in the hepatitis B virus pre-core and core promoter regions have been reported to be associated with hepatitis B e antigen negative phenotype. The prevalence of these mutations vary in different geographical areas. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of mutations in the hepatitis B virus pre-core and core promoter regions in Turkish patients with chronic hepatitis B and to correlate presence of these mutations with the hepatitis B e antigen status. Sera from 21 Turkish patients with chronic hepatitis B were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction amplifications and direct sequencing of the pre-core and core promoter regions. All the 21 patients had T at nucleotide 1858. The pre-core stop codon mutation (A 1896) was detected in 2 (18%) of 11 hepatitis B e antigen positive and 8 (80%) of 10 hepatitis B e antigen negative patients. Apart from changes involving the first T-A reach region (T-C at nucleotide 1753 in 40% hepatitis B e antigen negative and A-C at nucleotide 1752 in 30% hepatitis B e antigen positive patients), we found no difference in frequency or pattern of changes in the core promoter region between the hepatitis B e antigen positive and hepatitis B e antigen negative patients. Only one patient had co-occurrence of T 1782 and A 1764. In conclusion, hepatitis B e antigen negative phenotype in Turkish patients with chronic hepatitis B is associated with mutations in the pre-core but probably not in the core promoter region.