[Prevalence of antibodies to hepatitis E virus among residents of different climate and geographic zones of Russia Federation]. / Chastota vstrechaemosti antitel k virusu gepatita E u naseleniia razlichnykh klimatogeograficheskikh zon Rossiiskoi Federatsii.

The detection frequency of antibodies to Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) was studied in residents of the South and of the Middle European Part of the Russia Federation as well as of Siberia. Antibodies to HEV were most often found both in patients with hepatic pathologies and in subjects with diseases unrelated with a primary hepatic lesion, in particular, in patients with skin and venereal diseases and with HEV. A higher concentration of antibodies to HEV was noted also in blood donors, medical personnel and isolated communities, like prisons or psychiatric clinics. A correlation was established between the rate antibodies to HEV are registered and such risk factor as contacting with blood or a gross violation of the hygienic rules.

[Propagation of hepatitis E virus in an endemic and nonendemic regions]. / Osobennosti rasprostraneniia virusa gepatita E v éndemichnom i neéndemichnom regionakh.

The role of hepatitis E (HE) in sporadic morbidity at an endemic territory (Southern Uzbekistan) and the incidence of anti-HEV in different populations of a nonendemic region (Russia) were evaluated. Antibodies to HEV were detected in 22.1% of patients with acute HE, including mixed infections (+ HA or HB), in the Dekhkanabad district of Kashkadarya region in 1993. The estimated incidence of acute HE was 51.7 per 100,000 population. Analysis of monthly incidence of acute HE demonstrated a seasonal pattern of the morbidity: more than 80% of total recorded cases occurred in August-September. These data indicate the presence of group HEV infections and an important role of this infection in the structure of acute viral hepatitis at the endemic territory. Anti-HEV were found in some population groups at a nonendemic territory: in free-of-charge blood donors in Surgut (4%), in patients with HIV infection (1.6%), and in medical workers in Moscow (1.1%).

[Antigenic specificity of recombinant polypeptides, containing fragments of hepatitis E virus proteins]. / Antigennaia spetsifichnost' rekombinantnykh polipeptidov, soderzhashchikh fragmenty belkov virusa gepatita E.

Antigenic specificity of recombinant polypeptides HE40 and HE60 containing fragments of gene ORF2 and ORF3 protein products of hepatitis E, strain Burma, produced in E. coli cells, is analyzed. Blood sera from patients with acute hepatitis from an endemic region in Uzbekistan were tested for IgG to recombinant antigens by solid-phase enzyme immunoassay with a protein fragment coded by PRF3 gene, a synthetic peptide previously characterized in a commercial test system, as the positive control. 93% sera reacting with recombinant polypeptide HE60 and 32% reacting with HE40 reacted with the synthetic peptide. No antibodies to the studied polypeptides were detected in the sera of Moscow patients with hepatitis A, B, or C confirmed by laboratory findings. Antigenic specificity of recombinant polypeptide HE60 was confirmed by competitive enzyme immunoassay with the same peptide as the competitive antigen. Test system based on recombinant polypeptides HE40 and HE60 was used for deciphering the etiological structure of acute viral hepatitis which occurred in a hepatitis E endemic region of Uzbekistan in 1993.

[Preparation of recombinant polypeptides containing antigenic determinants of hepatitis E virus]. / Poluchenie rekombinantnykh polipeptidov, soderzhashchikh antigennye determinanty virusa gepatita E.

DNA fragments complementary to hepatitis E Burma strain ORF2 and ORF3 obtained by oligonucleotide synthesis were cloned in expressing bacterial system. Recombinant polypeptides isolated from E. coli producer strains, immobilized on solid phase (polystyrene plates and nitrocellulose membranes), are studied in enzyme immunoassay to detect their ability to react with sera of patients with acute viral hepatitis from an Uzbekistan region endemic for hepatitis E. Two polypeptides reacting with the greatest number of sera, containing hepatitis E virus ORF2 and ORF3 gene fragments, were selected for further study of antigenic specificity.