Pre-treatment HCV quasispecies complexity and diversity may predict response to interferon based anti-viral therapy. The objective of this study was to retrospectively (1) examine temporal changes in quasispecies prior to the start of therapy and (2) investigate extensively quasispecies evolution in a group of 10 chronically infected patients with genotype 3a, treated with pegylated alpha2a-Interferon and ribavirin. The degree of sequence heterogeneity within the hypervariable region 1 was assessed by analyzing 20-30 individual clones in serial serum samples. Genetic parameters, including amino acid Shannon entropy, Hamming distance and genetic distance were calculated for each sample. Treatment outcome was divided into (1) sustained virological responders (SVR) and (2) treatment failure (TF). Our results indicate, (1) quasispecies complexity and diversity are lower in the SVR group, (2) quasispecies vary temporally and (3) genetic heterogeneity at baseline can be use to predict treatment outcome. We discuss the results from the perspective of replicative homeostasis.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2483966 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1743-422X-5-78 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
A general and biomedical perspective of viral quasispecies.
RNA
December 2024
Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia
Viral quasispecies refers to the complex and dynamic mutant distributions (also termed mutant spectra, clouds or swarms) that arise as a result of high error rates during RNA genome replication. The mutant spectrum of individual RNA virus populations is modified by continuous generation of variant genomes, competition and interactions among them, environmental influences, bottleneck events, and bloc transmission of viral particles. Quasispecies dynamics provides a new perspective on how viruses adapt, evolve and cause disease, and sheds light on strategies to combat them.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAntiviral drug development by targeting RNA binding site, oligomerization and nuclear export of influenza nucleoprotein.
Int J Biol Macromol
December 2024
Doctoral Program in Medical Biotechnology, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 402, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Genomics and Bioinformatics, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 402, Taiwan; Department of Life Sciences, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 402, Taiwan; Biotechnology Center, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 402, Taiwan. Electronic address:
The quasispecies of the influenza virus poses a significant challenge for developing effective therapies. Current antiviral drugs such as oseltamivir, zanamivir, peramivir and baloxavir marboxil along with seasonal vaccines have limitations due to viral variability caused by antigenic drift and shift as well as the development of drug resistance. Therefore, there is a clear need for novel antiviral agents targeting alternative mechanisms, either independently or in combination with existing modalities, to reduce the impact of influenza virus-related infections.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPositive selection, genetic recombination, and intra-host evolution in novel equine coronavirus genomes and other members of the subgenus.
Microbiol Spectr
November 2024
James A. Baker Institute for Animal Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA.
There are several examples of coronaviruses in the Betacoronavirus subgenus that have jumped from an animal to the human host. Studying how evolutionary factors shape coronaviruses in non-human hosts may provide insight into the coronavirus host-switching potential. Equids, such as horses and donkeys, are susceptible to equine coronaviruses (ECoVs).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEvolution and diversity of the hepatitis B virus genome: Clinical implications.
Virology
October 2024
Institute of Molecular and Medical Virology, Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Viral Pathogenesis & Infection Prevention and Control, School of Medicine, Jinan University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, 510632, China. Electronic address:
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains a significant global health burden. The genetic variation of HBV is complex. HBV can be divided into nine genotypes, which show significant differences in geographical distribution, clinical manifestations, transmission routes and treatment response.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAdapting the rhizome concept to an extended definition of viral quasispecies and the implications for molecular evolution.
Sci Rep
August 2024
Laboratory of RNA Archaeology, Instituto de Parasitología y Biomedicina "López-Neyra" (CSIC), Avd. Conocimiento 17, 18016, Armilla, Granada, Spain.
The rhizome concept proposed by Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari offers a novel perspective on the organization and interdependence of complex constellations of heterogeneous entities, their mapping and their ruptures. The emphasis of the present study is placed on the dynamics of contacts and communication among such entities that arise from experimentation, without any favored hierarchy or origin. When applied to biological evolution, the rhizome concept integrates all types of heterogeneity resulting from "symbiotic" relationships among living beings (or their genomic material), horizontal genetic transfer, recombination and mutation, and breaks away from the approach that gives rise to the phylogenetic tree of life.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!