Published in:
01-05-2010 | Brief Report
Mutations in hepatitis C virus NS3 protease domain associated with resistance to specific protease inhibitors in antiviral therapy naïve patients
Published in: Archives of Virology | Issue 5/2010
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The prevalence of naturally occurring mutations in hepatitis C virus associated with resistance to protease inhibitors in chronically infected patients has not been reported in Brazil. The NS3 serine protease domain was sequenced in 114 therapy-naïve patients infected with subtype 1a (n = 48), 1b (n = 53), or 3a (n = 13). A V36L mutation was observed in 5.6% patients infected with subtype 1b and in all isolates of the 3a subtype, and a T54S mutation was detected in 4.1% of isolates of subtype 1a. In conclusion, the presence of variants carrying mutations associated with resistance to protease inhibitors in therapy-naïve patients may be important for future therapeutic strategies.