Bioinformatics analysis of the structure and function correlated to interferon sensitivity of HCV core protein / 中华实验和临床病毒学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To analyze and predict the structure and function correlated to interferon sensitivity of HCV Core protein in different genotypes.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Using different bioinformafics software respectively to comparatively analyze and predict the secondary structure, tertiary structure, modification site and main functional motifs of HCV Core protein.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>There were diversities in secondary structure and tertiary structure of different genotypes. HCV Core protein would exist some modification sites about amidation, cAMP, PKC, TYR, and interact with amphiphysin SH3 domain, ERK, PKC.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Differences in structure and function of HCV Core protein of different genotypes affected interferon sensitivity.</p>

The velocity of HCV subtype 6a transmission in southwest China / 中华肝脏病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To estimate the velocity of HCV subtype 6a transmission in Southwest China.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The HCV CE1 region from 61 patients infected with HCV genotype 6 were amplificated by RT-PCR and sequenced. The subtypes were identified, and the period of HCV 6a strains originated in southwest china was estimated by using molecular clock phylogenetic analysis. The velocity of HCV subtype 6a transmission in southwest China was estimated by BEAST v1.6.1 and Tracer v1.5 software theoretically.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Most of HCV 6a strains distributed in Southwest China origine around the year 1968 and at last 4 epidemic strains existed. The earlier origine strains could be isolated both in intravenous drug users (IDU) and non-IDU patients. After 1997, the HCV 6a strains transmission in southwest China accelerated and the trend intensified in 2007.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>HCV 6a strains spread fastly both in IDU and non-IDU patients, which might be the main HCV subtype distributed in Southwest China in the future.</p>