BACKGROUND In Brazil, few studies have investigated the prevalence of infection with the precore (PC) and basal core promoter (BCP) mutants of the hepatitis B virus (HBV). OBJECTIVES This study aimed to analyse the frequency of PC and BCP mutations among patients infected with HBV and to evaluate the association between the variants and advanced hepatic disease. METHODS A total of 161 patients infected with HBV were studied. To identify PC and BCP mutations, a 501-bp fragment of HBV DNA was amplified and sequenced. FINDINGS PC and BCP regions from HBV strains were successfully amplified and sequenced in 129 and 118 cases, respectively. PC and BCP mutations were detected in 61.0% and 80.6% of the cases, respectively. The A1762T/G1764A variant was identified in 36.7% of the patients with grade 1 and 2 liver fibrosis (29/79) and in 81.8% of the patients with grade 3 and 4 liver fibrosis (9/11) (p < 0.01); in 76.9% of the patients with cirrhosis (10/13) and in 38.1% of the patients without cirrhosis (40/105) (p = 0.01); and in 77.8% of the patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) (7/9) and in 39.4% of the patients without HCC (43/109) (p = 0.03). MAIN CONCLUSIONS A high prevalence of HBV PC and BCP mutants was found. The A1762T/G1764A variant was independently associated with advanced forms of liver fibrosis, hepatic cirrhosis, and HCC.

Abstract Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is distributed worldwide, with geographical variations regarding prevalence of the different genotypes. The aim of this study was to determine the HBV genotypes and subgenotypes circulating in Southeast Brazil and compare the genetic sequences found with HBV sequences previously described in the world. Sequences from 166 chronic HBV carriers were analyzed using the fragment constituted by 1306 base pairs comprising surface and polymerase regions of the HBV genome. The sequences obtained were submitted to phylogenetic analysis. HBV subgenotypes A1, A2, D1-D4, F2a, and F4 were found. HBV genotype D was the most frequent, found in 99 patients (58.4%). Within this group, subgenotype D3 was the most prevalent, in 73 patients (42.9%). HBV genotype A was identified in 58 (36%) patients, subgenotype A1, in 48 (29.8%) subjects. Genotype F was identified in 9 (5.4%). According to the phylogenetic analysis, the sequences found were grouped with sequences from Europe, Asia and Middle East (subgenotypes D1, D2, D3) and sequences from Latin America and Africa (subgenotype A1). HBV D3 grouped in different clusters inside D3 clade, several of them with sequences isolated in Italy. We also identified eight families whose relatives were infected with the same HBV subgenotype, most with high similarity between sequences. In conclusion, the distribution of the HBV sequences obtained interweaved with sequences from other continents, corresponding to regions from where many immigrants came to this region, in accordance to the hypothesis that the HBV detected over there were brought during the colonization times.

RESUMO No presente trabalho foi estudada a morfologia dos frutos e das sementes e características de plântulas de: Canavalia rosea, Ormosia arborea, Pithecellobium tortum e Swartzia apetala var. apetala, de janeiro de 2004 a outubro de 2006, na restinga de Maricá, Rio de Janeiro. As espécies possuem frutos deiscentes com dispersão autocórica. As sementes de S. apetala var. apetala sugerem também dispersão zoocórica pela presença de um arilo. As sementes recém-coletadas apresentam médias altas de germinação: C. rosea (99%), O. arborea (100%), P. tortum (75%) e S. apetala var. apetala (93%), entretanto, no habitat natural, só foram encontradas plântulas de C. rosea. A germinação é criptocotiledonar em O. arborea e S. apetala var. apetala e fanerocotiledonar em C. rosea e P. tortum.

ABSTRACT The morphology of fruits, seeds and seedlings of Canavalia rosea, Ormosia arborea, Pithecellobium tortum and Swartzia apetala var. apetala in the "restinga" of Maricá, state of Rio de Janeiro was studied between January 2004 and October 2006. All species present dehiscent fruits and autochorous dispersial, but the seeds of S. apetala var. apetala also suggest zoochorous dispersial by the presence of an aril. Newly collected seeds show high germination success: C. rosea (99%), O. arborea (100%), P. tortum (93%) and S. apetala var. apetala (75%), however, the only seedlings found in the natural habitat were of C. rosea. Cryptocotylar seedling was recorded for O. arborea and S. apetala var. apetala. while phanerocotylar seedling was observed in C. rosea and P. tortum.