[Molecular cloning and sequencing of hepatitis C virus gene from human blood]

To clone and characterize hepatitis C virus strain in China, we extracted RNA from the pooled plasma of persons with HCV infection in Hunan, China. HCV gene was amplified and cloned by RT-PCR and gene recombinant techniques. A total of 2,307 nucleotides of the complementary DNA clones of HCV (HCV-Hun), including the clone of 5' noncoding region (311bp), core region (340bp), envelope region (397bp), NS1 region (634bp), NS3 region (245bp), and NS5 region (380bp) were isolated and identified. The homologies in nucleotide sequence between HCV-Hun and HCV-US or HCV-J were 98.1% and 98.7% respectively in 5' noncoding region; 92.6% and 97.4% in core region; 74.3% and 88.7% in envelope region; 83.5% and 91.0% in NS1 region; 82.9% and 94.7% in NS3 region; and 74.8% and 90.1% in NS5 region. The similar results were seen in deduced amino acid sequence homologies between above HCV stains. These findings indicate that HCV-Hun were more mimic to HCV-J than HCV-US, and there were considerable heterogeneity in hepatitis C virus genomes isolated from different areas of the world.