Abstract
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is an important cause of human chronic liver diseases and is a major public health problem. Viral load and HBV genotype play critical roles in determining clinical outcomes and response to antiviral treatment in hepatitis B patients. Viral genotype detection and quantification assays are currently in use with different levels of effectiveness. In this study, the performance of a real-time genotyping and quantitative PCR (GQ-PCR)-based assay was evaluated. Through the use of genotype-specific primers and probes, this assay provides simultaneous identification and quantification of genotypes B and C in a single reaction. Our GQ-PCR correctly identified all predefined genotypes B and C, and no cross-reaction between genotypes B and C were observed. The GQ-PCR identified more cases of HBV infections with mixed genotypes B and C than direct sequencing did. Samples from 127 HBV-infected Chinese patients were genotyped with GQ-PCR, revealing 56.7% HBV as genotype B, 13.4% as genotype C, and 29.8% as mixed genotypes B and C. This assay provides a reliable, efficient, and cost-effective means for quantification of the B and C genotypes of HBV in single or mixed infections. This assay is suitable for sequential monitoring of viral load levels and for determining the relationship between the genotype viral load and stage of disease in Asians.