E sequence analysis of persistently infected mutant Japanese encephalitis virus strains

A persistent infection model was established after human hepatoma cells infected by Japanese encephalitis viruses were subcultured for several times. Viral titers of mutant viruses in persistently infected cells were examined by plaque methods using BHK cells. Nucleotides of the E coding region of two wild and two mutant viruses were amplified by RT-PCR. PCR products were sequenced by ABI-PRSM 310 sequencing system. Compared to JaGAr-01 wild strains, four amino acids were replaced (E61Tyr --> Asp, E219His --> Tyr, E384Val --> Glu, E418Pro --> Ala) in the E sequence of JaGAr-01 persistently-infected mutant strains. Eleven amino acid replacement (E51Arg --> Ser, E61Tyr --> Asp, E83Lys --> Glu, E123Ser --> Arg, E209Arg --> Lys, E227Pro --> Ser, E276Asp --> Ser, E290Arg --> Lys, E387Lys --> Arg, E418Leu --> Pro, E454Arg --> Gly) was also noted when we compared the E sequence between persistently infected Nakayama and its wild strains. A lot of similarities of amino acid sequence between mutant strains JaGAr-01 and Nakayama were also noted. It was concluded that geno-variation existed in E region of mutant viruses and the mutant protein encoded by E region, especially the mutation of E61 (Tyr --> Asp) may contribute to the maintenance of the persistent infection of Japanese encephalitis virus.