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©2008 The WJG Press and Baishideng. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Mar 14, 2008; 14(10): 1510-1513
Published online Mar 14, 2008. doi: 10.3748/wjg.14.1510
Hepatitis B virus genotypes in southwest Iran: Molecular, serological and clinical outcomes
Anahita Mojiri, Abbas Behzad-Behbahani, Mehdei Saberifirozi, Maryam Ardabili, Mahmood Beheshti, Marjan Rahsaz, Mehrdad Banihashemi, Negar Azarpira, Bita Geramizadeh, Baharak Khadang, Afsaneh Moaddeb, Mojgan Ghaedi, Tahereh Heidari, Ardeshir Torab, Alireza Salah, Saeid Amirzadeh, Zahra Jowkar, Davood Mehrabani, Samad Amini-Bavil-Olyaee, Mohammad Ali Dehyadegari
Anahita Mojiri, Abbas Behzad-Behbahani, Mehdei Saberifirozi, Maryam Ardabili, Mahmood Beheshti, Baharak Khadang, Saeid Amirzadeh, Zahra Jowkar, Davood Mehrabani, Gastroenterology and Hepatology Research Center, Namazi Hospital, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
Marjan Rahsaz, Mehrdad Banihashemi, Negar Azarpira, Bita Geramizadeh, Mojgan Ghaedi, Tahereh Heidari, Organ Transplant Research Center, Namazi Hospital, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
Ardeshir Torab, Alireza Salah, Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization, Shiraz, Iran
Samad Amini-Bavil-Olyaee, Biotechnology Department, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
Afsaneh Moaddeb, Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
Mohammad Ali Dehyadegari, Professor Alborzi Clinical Microbiology Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
Author contributions: Mojiri A, Rahsaz M, Salah AR, Dehyadegari MA, Jowkar Z, Ghaedi M, Heidari T and Moaddeb A performed the research; Amini-Bavil-Olyaee S, Torab A and Amirzadeh S contributed new reagents/analytic tools; Behzad-Behbahani A, Saberifirozi M and Geramizadeh B designed the research; Ardabili M, Beheshti M and Azarpira N analyzed the data; Mehrabani D afforded financial support; Behzad-Behbahani A and Mojiri A contributed equally to this work.
Correspondence to: Abbas Behzad-Behbahani, School of Paramedical Sciences, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Meshkinfam St. 7143914693, Shiraz, Iran. behbahani_2000@yahoo.com
Telephone: +98-711-2295023
Fax: +98-711-2289113
Received: April 29, 2007
Revised: December 21, 2007
Published online: March 14, 2008
AIM: To investigate the associations of hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotype with HBeAg and anti-HBe status, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels and HBV-DNA detection in different groups of HBV-infected patients in southwest Iran.
METHODS: A total of 89 HBsAg-positive serum samples were collected from the same number of patients. All sera were then investigated to determine HBV DNA and serological markers. For all the polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-positive samples, biochemical, histopathological assays and genotyping were also performed.
RESULTS: Genotype D was the only type of HBV found in different clinical forms of acute and chronic infections. There was a high prevalence of HBeAg-negative HBV-infected patients with chronic hepatitis (52.7%). Out of 55 patients with chronic hepatitis, seven (12.7%) were diagnosed with cirrhosis. A significant association between the presence of anti-HBe antibody and an increase in ALT level, among either HBeAg-negative (P = 0.01) or HBeAg-positive (P = 0.026) patients, was demonstrated. No significant differences were observed between the clinical outcomes of HBeAg-positive and -negative individuals (P = 0.24).
CONCLUSION: Genotype D has been recognized as the only type of HBV found in different clinical forms of HBV infections, including cirrhosis, among the residents of southwest Iran. Anti-HBe possibly plays a role in disease progression in some patients with chronic hepatitis, at least for a period of disease.
