Isolation of a GB virus-related genome from a chimpanzee

✍ Scribed by Birkenmeyer, Larry G.; Desai, Suresh M.; Muerhoff, A. Scott; Leary, Thomas P.; Simons, John N.; Montes, Carla C.; Mushahwar, Isa K.

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1998
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 238 KB
• Volume: 56
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0146-6615
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1096-9071(199809)56:1<44::aid-jmv8>3.0.co;2-n

✦ Synopsis

Recently, two new flaviviruses, GB virus A (GBV-A) and GB virus B (GBV-B), were identified in the plasma of a tamarin infected with the hepatitis GB agent. A third virus, GB virus C (GBV-C), was subsequently identified in humans. In the current study, representational difference analysis (RDA) was used to search for a new virus in the serum of a chimpanzee that developed acute resolving hepatitis following inoculation with a pool of chimpanzee plasma. The plasma pool originated from serial passages of a human sample containing virus-like particles. Numerous cDNA clones were obtained that exhibited 62-80% identity with GBV-C. With the exception of the extreme 5Ј and 3Ј ends, the complete viral genome was sequenced, revealing a single large open reading frame encoding a 2833 amino acid polyprotein that contains two envelope proteins, two proteases, a helicase, and an RNAdependent RNA polymerase. Phylogenetic analysis of the new virus indicates that it is closely related to GBV-C, yet still sufficiently divergent as to be placed in a separate group, tentatively labeled GB virus C troglodytes (GBV-C tro ). Numerous human samples were screened by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), but GBV-C tro sequence was not detected. However, a second chimpanzee inoculated with the same plasma pool was shown to develop a GBV-C tro infection. Although isolated from an Old World primate with hepatitis, the primary host of GBV-C tro and any association with disease remains to be determined.