Abstract
Mutations in the reverse transcriptase (rt) region of the DNA polymerase gene are the primary cause of hepatitis B virus (HBV) drug resistance. In this study, we established a novel method that couples coamplification at lower denaturation temperature (COLD)-PCR and Sanger sequencing, and we applied it to the detection of known and unknown HBV mutations. Primers were designed based on the common mutations in the HBV rt sequence at positions 180 to 215. The critical denaturation temperature (Tc) was established as a denaturing temperature for both fast and full COLD-PCR procedures. For single mutations, when a melting temperature (Tm)-reducing mutation occurred (e.g., C-G → T-A), the sensitivities of fast and full COLD-PCR for mutant detection were 1% and 2%, respectively; when the mutation caused no change in Tm (e.g., C-G → G-C) or raised Tm (e.g., T-A → C-G), only full COLD-PCR improved the sensitivity for mutant detection (2%). For combination mutations, the sensitivities of both full and fast COLD-PCR were increased to 0.5%. The limits of detection for fast and full COLD-PCR were 50 IU/ml and 100 IU/ml, respectively. In 30 chronic hepatitis B (CHB) cases, no mutations were detected by conventional PCR, whereas 18 mutations were successfully detected by COLD-PCR, including low-prevalence mutations (<10%), as confirmed by ultradeep pyrosequencing. In conclusion, COLD-PCR provides a highly sensitive, simple, inexpensive, and practical tool for significantly improving amplification efficacy and detecting low-level mutations in clinical CHB cases.