Hepatitis C Virus Diversification in Argentina: Comparative Analysis between the Large City of Buenos Aires and the Small Rural Town of O’Brien

• Autores: Golemba, Marcelo Darío; Culasso, Andrés Carlos Alberto; Villamil, Federico; Baré, Patricia; Gadano, Adrián Carlos; Ridruejo, Ezequiel; Martínez, Alfredo; Di Lello, Federico Alejandro; Campos, Rodolfo Hector
• Año de publicación: 2013
• Idioma: inglés
• Tipo de recurso: artículo
• Materia: HCV; QUASISPECIES; DIVERSIFICATION
• Institución: Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas

The estimated prevalence of HCV infection in Argentina is around 2%. However, higher rates of infection have been described in population studies of small urban and rural communities. The aim of this work was to compare the origin and diversification of HCV-1b in samples from two different epidemiological scenarios: Buenos Aires, a large cosmopolitan city, and O´Brien, a small rural town with a high prevalence of HCV infection. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The E1/E2 and NS5B regions of the viral genome from 83 patients infected with HCV-1b were sequenced. Phylogenetic analysis and Bayesian Coalescent methods were used to study the origin and diversification of HCV-1b in both patient populations. RESULTS: Samples from Buenos Aires showed a polyphyletic behavior with a tMRCA around 1887-1900 and a time of spread of infection approximately 60 years ago. In contrast, samples from ÓBrien showed a monophyletic behavior with a tMRCA around 1950-1960 and a time of spread of infection more recent than in Buenos Aires, around 20-30 years ago. CONCLUSION: Phylogenetic and coalescence analysis revealed a different behavior in the epidemiological histories of Buenos Aires and ÓBrien. HCV infection in Buenos Aires shows a polyphyletic behavior and an exponential growth in two phases, whereas that in O´Brien shows a monophyletic cluster and an exponential growth in one single step with a more recent tMRCA. The polyphyletic origin and the probability of encountering susceptible individuals in a large cosmopolitan city like Buenos Aires are in agreement with a longer period of expansion. In contrast, in less populated areas such as O´Brien, the chances of HCV transmission are strongly restricted. Furthermore, the monophyletic character and the most recent time of emergence suggest that different HCV-1b ancestors (variants) that were in expansion in Buenos Aires had the opportunity to colonize and expand in O´Brien.
Fil: Golemba, Marcelo Darío. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquimica. Departamento de Microbiologia,inmunologia y Biotecnolog.;
Fil: Culasso, Andrés Carlos Alberto. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquimica. Departamento de Microbiologia,inmunologia y Biotecnolog.. Cat. de Virologia;
Fil: Villamil, Federico. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Ministerio de Salud. Hospital Alta Complejidad En Red El Cruce Dr. Nestor Carlos Kirchner Samic;
Fil: Baré, Patricia. Consejo Nacional de Invest.cientif.y Tecnicas. Instituto de Medicina Experimental;
Fil: Gadano, Adrián Carlos. Htal.italiano;
Fil: Ridruejo, Ezequiel. Centro de Educaciones Medicas E Investig.clinica "norberto Quirno";
Fil: Martínez, Alfredo. Centro de Educaciones Medicas E Investig.clinica "norberto Quirno";
Fil: Di Lello, Federico Alejandro. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquimica. Departamento de Microbiologia,inmunologia y Biotecnolog.. Cat. de Virologia;
Fil: Campos, Rodolfo Hector. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquimica. Departamento de Microbiologia,inmunologia y Biotecnolog.;