Mutations in pre-core and basal-core promoter regions of hepatitis B virus in chronic HBV patients from Golestan, Iran

Objective(s): It has been reported that the mutation of the pre-core (PC) and basal-core promoter (BCP) may play an important role in the development of HBV-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In this study the PC and BCP mutations were investigated in chronic HBV patients. Materials and Methods:In this study, ۱۲۰ chronic HBV patients from Golestan, Northeast of Iran who were not vaccinated against HBV, were recruited from the year ۲۰۰۸ to ۲۰۱۲. HBV-DNA extraction from plasma and PCR were performed and positive PCR products were subjected to automated sequencing. Results:One hundred out of ۱۲۰ (۸۳.۳%) patients were HBeAg negative. Comparison of our nucleotide sequences with reference sequence showed high rate mutation in BCP and PC region (۹۶.۶۶%). Frame shift mutation was found in ۷۸ (۶۵%) of patients in BCP region, among them ۸ (۶.۶%) patients showed mutation in PC region. Conclusion: Our results demonstrated high rate of mutations in BCP and PC regions among HBV chronic patients in Northeast of Iran.

Keywords:

BCP mutation , Hepatitis B , Iran , PC mutation