Abstract: A change in the amino acid sequences at positions 130 and 131 in the HBV-
X protein (
M130K and
V131I) produced by T-A point mutations at the nucleic acids level has been associated with severe
liver damage and
HCC in patients from China and Africa.
Result: In this study,
V131I also occurred alone in 5 samples (17%) of the 29 chronic patients; this event has been commonly reported by others; nevertheless
M130K alone is very unusual.
Result: Table 1 shows the mutation rate of T-A in
HBx for
M130K and
V131I amongst the three study groups.