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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, September 2002, p. 3455-3462, Vol. 40, No. 9
0095-1137/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JCM.40.9.3455-3462.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Characterization of Hepatitis C Virus Quasispecies by Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization-Time of Flight (Mass Spectrometry) Mutation Detection

Melissa Ayers,1 Karen Siu,1 Eve Roberts,2 Alex M. Garvin,3 and Raymond Tellier1*

Divisions of Microbiology,1 Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada,2 Applera Deutschland GmbH, Applied Biosystems, 64331 Weiterstadt, Germany3

Received 4 December 2001/ Returned for modification 12 May 2002/ Accepted 13 June 2002

Hepatitis C virus (HCV), the causative agent of hepatitis C, frequently causes chronic infection. The mechanisms of viral persistence continue to be the object of investigation. An important aspect of HCV chronic infection is the quasispecies nature of the viral population, which has been particularly well documented in the hypervariable region 1 of the E2 glycoprotein. Recent studies show that characterization of the quasispecies diversity at the amino acid level can help to predict the outcome of HCV infection. Currently the accurate characterization of HCV quasispecies requires the cloning of PCR products, followed by the sequencing of many clones. In this study we present a new method to characterize HCV quasispecies, based on in vitro translation of the amplicons, followed by mass spectrometry analysis of the resulting peptide mix. The assay was used on reference HCV samples and on clinical samples. In principle, this method could be applied to other chronic viral infections in which quasispecies play a role.

* Corresponding author. Mailing Address: Department of Paediatric Laboratory Medicine, The Hospital for Sick Children, 555 University Ave., Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5G 1X8. Phone (416) 813-6592. Fax (416) 813 6257. E-mail: raymond.tellier{at}sickkids.ca.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, September 2002, p. 3455-3462, Vol. 40, No. 9
0095-1137/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JCM.40.9.3455-3462.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Yea, C., Bukh, J., Ayers, M., Roberts, E., Krajden, M., Tellier, R. (2007). Monitoring of Hepatitis C Virus Quasispecies in Chronic Infection by Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization-Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry Mutation Detection. J. Clin. Microbiol. 45: 1053-1057 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


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