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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

The total ischemic burden European trial (TIBET): design, methodology, and management. The TIBET Study Group.

TIBET is a European multicenter, double-blind parallel group trial with the main objective of investigating whether total ischemic burden has important prognostic implications in patients with stable angina on treatment. A secondary objective is to compare the antianginal and antiischemic effects of atenolol (50 mg bid), nifedipine (20-40 mg bid), and their combination using standardized exercise testing and Holter monitoring techniques. The main primary end points are cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The secondary end points are time to onset of significant ischemia, angina on exercise stress testing, exercise capacity at onset of angina, 1-mm ST-segment depression and termination of exercise, total duration and number of significant ischemic episodes during 48 hours of Holter monitoring, and their circadian distribution. The target population, the assessments, and the management of the trial are described in detail.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Total Ischaemic Burden European Trial (TIBET). Effects of ischaemia and treatment with atenolol, nifedipine SR and their combination on outcome in patients with chronic stable angina. The TIBET Study Group.

OBJECTIVE: To study the relationship between presence or absence of ischaemic events on Holter monitoring and occurrence of a hard or hard+soft endpoint. DESIGN: A randomized double-blind parallel group study of atenolol, nifedipine and their combination, with ambulatory monitoring off-treatment and after 6 weeks of randomized treatment and prospective follow-up of 2 years on average. SETTING: Europe. SUBJECTS: 682 men and women with a diagnosis of chronic stable angina and who were not being considered for surgery. MAIN OUTCOME: Hard endpoints were cardiac death, nonfatal myocardial infarction and unstable angina; soft endpoints were coronary artery bypass surgery, coronary angioplasty and treatment failure. RESULTS: The study showed no evidence of an association between the presence, frequency or total duration of ischaemic events on Holter monitoring, either on or off treatment, and the main outcome measures. There was a non-significant trend to a lower rate of hard endpoints in the group receiving combination therapy. Compliance, as measured by withdrawal from trial medication, was clearly poorest in the nifedipine group with similar withdrawal rates in the atenolol and combination therapy groups. CONCLUSION: The recording of ischaemic events in 48 h Holter monitoring failed to predict hard or hard+soft endpoints in patients with chronic stable angina.

Adrenergic beta-Antagonists↗
PubMed1996

The Total Ischaemic Burden European Trial (TIBET). Effects of atenolol, nifedipine SR and their combination on the exercise test and the total ischaemic burden in 608 patients with stable angina. The TIBET Study Group.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the effects of atenolol, nifedipine and their combination on exercise parameters and ambulatory ischaemic activity in patients with mild chronic stable angina. SETTING: Multicentre, multinational study involving 608 patients from 69 centres in nine countries. DESIGN: Placebo washout followed by double-blind parallel-group study comparing atenolol 50 mg bd, nifedipine SR 20 mg bd, and their combination. Patients underwent maximal exercise testing using either a bicycle (n = 289) or treadmill (n = 319) and 48 h of ambulatory ST segment monitoring outside the hospital environment at the end of the placebo washout period and after 6 weeks of active therapy. RESULTS: Both medications alone and in combination caused significant improvements in exercise parameters and significant reductions in ischaemic activity during daily activities, when compared with placebo. There were, however, no significant differences between groups, for any of the measured ischaemic parameters although combination therapy resulted in a greater fall in resting systolic and diastolic blood pressure than either treatment alone. CONCLUSIONS: In the management of mild chronic stable angina there appears to be little advantage gained from using combination therapy for ischaemia reduction.

Adrenergic beta-Antagonists↗
PubMed2002

[RAPD analysis for the genetic diversity of Brassica rapa in Tibet].

Tibet, a most beautiful place, locating in southwestern China. She has been called as the third pole of the earth. Unique geological history, complex land surface and climatic zones, various soil types, all different wild vegetations etc., all of these make Tibet a very typical area of vertical agricultural ecosystem. The ecosystem in Tibet may be the most complex in the world, which varies from place to place. Genetic differentiation of 107 accessions of Brassica rapa from Tibet plateau was studied by DNA PAPD analysis using 2210 bp random primers, the genetical distribution in 107 accession of Brassica rapa from Tibet plateau was found. The results are as follows: (1) Total 236 bands were produced from 107 Tibet oilseed accession of B. rapa germaplasm resource in Tibet, of 210 bands amplified from B. rapa germaplasm resource showed polymorphism, with the ratio 88.98%. The result showed that oilseed accession of B. rapa in Tibet has richer genetic diversity; (2) Dendrogram constructed from DNA RAPDs showed that 107 accessions of B. rapa from Tibet plateau were divided into 11 cluster by calculating genetic distance, the cluster analysis showed that the genetic variation among oilseed accessions of B. rapa was closely related with their eco-geographic distribution; extensive variation existed among the accessions from Tibet Province. Based on the analysis of unique geological history, complex land surface and climatic zones, various soil types, complex growing environments, long agricultural history, different cropping systems, and natural and artificial selection as well as plant geography, plant evolution theory, it concludes that Tibet is one of the oil seed gene centers in the word.

Brassica rapa↗
PubMed2003

[Quality variation of wheat planted in different regions of Tibet and Beijing].

In order to supply experimental basis for developing high quality and special use wheat for Tibet, multi-varieties experiments in different regions were carried out to study the quality variation of wheat varieties during 1998 to 2001. Field trials of sowing in spring and in autumn were conducted in Linzhi, Rikaze, Lasa and Beijing, and 5 indices including grain protein content, wet gluten content, sedimentation value, falling number and grain hardness were determined. The results showed that the quality characters were significantly different among the varieties, and extremely significant among the sites of same variety. The protein content of grains had a positive correlation to the other 4 indices, and could be a core index in quality characters of wheat. The parameters of quality characters were higher in inland varieties than in Tibet ones, the latter appearing weak or medium gluten, and those of the same varieties were higher in Beijing than in Tibet. When inland varieties were planted in Tibet, the parameters of quality characters would be decreased. The same variety in 3 sites of Tibet had different quality characters. There was a positive correlation between ecological height (latitude x elevation) and growth-development duration of varieties, but a negative correlation between growth-development duration and protein content, and between ecological height and protein content. Medium gluten varieties should be mainly planted in Tibet, and some good inland varieties could be introduced and planted according to the quality regionalization.

China↗
PubMed1989

Age-related cataract in the Tibet Eye Study.

The Tibet Eye Study was designed to estimate the prevalence of age-related cataract in Duilong-Deqing County, west of Lhasa, China (altitude, 4000 m). Previous reports have suggested an unusually high prevalence of age-related cataract in Tibet. A two-stage probability sample of persons aged 20 years or older from the 35 townships of the county targeted 2884 persons for inclusion in the study; 2665 (92.4%) were examined. Age-related cataract was diagnosed when (1) visual acuity was worse than 6/12 (20/40) because of nuclear or cortical (including posterior subcapsular) opacities, or (2) aphakia associated with a history of age-related cataract was present in either eye. The prevalence of age-related cataract among persons aged 20 to 39 years was 0.2%; among persons 40 years old or older, the prevalence was 11.8%. Cortical cataracts were by far the most common type of cataract diagnosed. Age- and sex-adjusted prevalence in Tibet was 60% higher than the prevalence in a similar, previously conducted study of 6951 person in Shunyi County, northeast of Beijing (altitude, 50 m). A second, independent slit-lamp classification of lens status was conducted in the Tibet Eye Study using standard photographs previously described. Age-specific cataract prevalence was similar with the two examination techniques. Results from the Tibet Eye Study support previous suggestions of a high prevalence of age-related cataract in Tibet.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Blindness and eye diseases in Tibet: findings from a randomised, population based survey.

BACKGROUND: Public health officials of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) of China requested a survey of blindness, eye diseases, and eye care service utilisation to assist the development of a 10 year blindness prevention and treatment plan. The objective of the survey was to determine the prevalence of blindness and visual impairment, as well as cataract surgical coverage and surgical outcome in the TAR. METHODS: The Tibet Eye Care Assessment was a cross sectional prevalence study of three of the seven prefectures (provinces) of the TAR (Lhoka, Nakchu, and Lingzhr) selected to represent its three main environmental regions. The survey sample was selected using a random multistage cluster method. Two teams conducted the survey in a standardised fashion in each prefecture, Lhoka during May and Nakchu during June 1999, and Lingzhr during May 2000. Visual acuity, cause of vision loss, trachoma, and vitamin A deficiency were included in the clinical examination. RESULTS: Among the 15,900 people enumerated, 12,644 were examined for an overall response rate of 79.6%. The crude prevalence of blindness (presenting better eye visual acuity of less than 6/60) was 2.3%; age and sex adjusted blindness prevalence was 1.4% (95% CI 1.3 to 1.5). Visual impairment (better eye presenting visual acuity of 6/24 to 6/60) was found in 10.9% (95% CI 10.5 to 11.2) of the population (age and sex adjusted). Cataract was the primary cause of blindness (50.7%), followed by macular degeneration (12.7%) and corneal opacity (9.7%). CONCLUSION: Blindness is a serious public health problem in Tibet, with prevalence higher than in similar studies in eastern China. As elsewhere in the world, women have an excess burden of blindness compared to men. About 75% of blindness in Tibet can be either prevented or treated. Eye care planning for Tibet must focus on cataract, particularly among women.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

[Study on the genotyping and microevolution of Yersinia pestis in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau].

OBJECTIVE: To study the distribution of genomovars and microevolution of Yersinia pestis in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. METHODS: Primer pairs targeting the twenty-two different regions(DFRs) were designed for detecting the presence or deletion of each DFR in 297 strains isolated from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. RESULTS: 9 genomovars, i. e. Genomovar 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, new type and Ype-ancestor were identified in the Marmota himalayana plague focus of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Among these genomovars, genomovar 5,8 and 10 were dominant types. The total rate of the three genomovars was 80.6% (204/253) and the genomovars in different regions were different. All of 44 strains of Y. pestis in the Microtus fuscus plague focus of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau belonged to genomovar 14. CONCLUSION: The distribution of genomovars of Y. pestis in the Qinghai-Tibet plateau had remarkable characteristics geographically. Based on the distribution of genomovars of Y. pestis, the routes of transmission and microevolution of Y. pestis were proposed.

Biological Evolution↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Genetic diversity and population structure of Lamiophlomis rotata (Lamiaceae), an endemic species of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Lamiophlomis rotata (Lamiaceae), a perennial medicinal herb, is endemic to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. A total of 188 individuals from eight natural populations of L. rotata in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (four from Tibet, two from Yunnan, and two from Qinghai) were analyzed using intersimple sequence repeats (ISSR) and randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) techniques. Our results revealed that the level of genetic variation in L. rotata was relatively high (P = 94.85%, I = 0.440 +/- 0.220, H(T) = 0.289 +/- 0.028). Three genetic groups corresponding to the three geographic regions were detected, suggesting significant geographic structure. Our results suggest that the highly structured geographic pattern found in L. rotata might represent diverging evolutionary processes associated with the uplifting of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and Quaternary climatic oscillations. These findings imply that as many populations as possible should be preserved in situ for the conservation of this species. Given their genetic variability and peripheral distribution, Qinghai and Yunnan populations should be assigned priority for conservation. Optimal harvesting strategies, domestication and tissue culture of L. rotata should be developed as soon as possible to guarantee its sustainable use.

China↗
PubMed2002

Molecular phylogeny and biogeography of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau endemic Nannoglottis (Asteraceae).

All taxa endemic to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau are hypothesized to have originated in situ or from immediately adjacent areas because of the relatively recent formation of the plateau since the Pliocene, followed by the large-scaled biota extinction and recession caused by the Quaternary ice sheet. However, identification of specific progenitors remains difficult for some endemics, especially some endemic genera. Nannoglottis, with about eight species endemic to this region, is one such genus. Past taxonomic treatments have suggested its relationships with four different tribes of Asteraceae. We intend to identify the closest relatives of Nannoglottis by evaluating the level of monophyly, tribal delimitation, and systematic position of the genus by using molecular data from ndhF gene, trnL-F, and ITS region sequences. We find that all sampled species of Nannoglottis are a well-defined monophyly. This supports all recent taxonomic treatments of Nannoglottis, in which all sampled species were placed in one broadly re-circumscribed genus. Nannoglottis is most closely related to the Astereae, but stands as an isolated genus as the first diverging lineage of the tribe, without close relatives. A tentative relationship was suggested for Nannoglottis and the next lineage of the tribe was based on the ITS topology, the "basal group," which consists of seven genera from the Southern Hemisphere. Such a relationship is supported by some commonly shared plesiomorphic morphological characters. Despite the very early divergence of Nannoglottis in the Astereae, the tribe must be regarded to have its origin in Southern Hemisphere rather than in Asia, because based on all morphological, molecular, biogeographical, and fossil data, the Asteraceae and its major lineages (tribes) are supposed to have originated in the former area. Long-distance dispersal using Southeast Asia as a steppingstone from Southern Hemisphere to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is the most likely explanation for this unusual biogeographic link of Nannoglottis. The 23-32-million-year divergence time between Nannoglottis and the other Astereae estimated by DNA sequences predated the formation of the plateau. This estimation is further favored by the fossil record of the Asteraceae and the possible time of origin of the Astereae. Nannoglottis seems to have reached the Qinghai-Tibet area in the Oligocene-Eocene and then re-diversified with the uplift of the plateau. The molecular infragenetic phylogeny of the genus identifies two distinct clades, which reject the earlier infrageneric classification based on the arrangement of the involucral bracts and the length of the ligules, but agree well with the habits and ecological preferences of its current species. The "alpine shrub" vs. "coniferous forest" divergence within Nannoglottis was estimated at about 3.4 million years ago when the plateau began its first large-scale uplifting and the coniferous vegetation began to appear. Most of the current species at the "coniferous forest" clade of the genus are estimated to have originated from 1.02 to 1.94 million years ago, when the second and third uprisings of the plateau occurred, the climate oscillated and the habitats were strongly changed. The assumed evolution, speciation diversity, and radiation of Nannoglottis based on molecular phylogeny and divergence times agree well with the known geological and paleobotanical histories of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Asteraceae↗
PubMed1995

Arterial oxygen saturation in Tibetan and Han infants born in Lhasa, Tibet.

BACKGROUND: Reduced oxygen availability at high altitude is associated with increased neonatal and infant mortality. We hypothesized that native Tibetan infants, whose ancestors have inhabited the Himalayan Plateau for approximately 25,000 years, are better able to maintain adequate oxygenation at high altitude than Han infants, whose ancestors moved to Tibet from lowland areas of China after the Chinese military entered Tibet in 1951. METHODS: We compared arterial oxygen saturation, signs of hypoxemia, and other indexes of neonatal wellbeing at birth and during the first four months of life in 15 Tibetan infants and 15 Han infants at 3658 m above sea level in Lhasa, Tibet. The Han mothers had migrated from lowland China about two years previously. A pulse oximeter was placed on each infant's foot to provide measurements of arterial oxygen saturation distal to the ductus arteriosus. RESULTS: The two groups had similar gestational ages (about 38.9 weeks) and Apgar scores. The Han infants had lower birth weights (2773 +/- 92 g) than the Tibetan infants (3067 +/- 107 g), higher concentrations of cord-blood hemoglobin (18.6 +/- 0.8 g per deciliter, vs. 16.7 +/- 0.4 in the Tibetans), and higher hematocrit values (58.5 +/- 2.4 percent, vs. 51.4 +/- 1.2 percent in the Tibetans). In both groups, arterial oxygen saturation was highest in the first two days after birth and was lower when the infants were asleep than when they were awake. Oxygen saturation values were lower in the Han than in the Tibetan infants at all times and under all conditions during all activities. The values declined in the Han infants from 92 +/- 3 percent while they were awake and 90 +/- 5 percent during quiet sleep at birth to 85 +/- 4 percent while awake and 76 +/- 5 percent during quiet sleep at four months of age. In the Tibetan infants, oxygen saturation values averaged 94 +/- 2 percent while they were awake and 94 +/- 3 percent during quiet sleep at birth and 88 +/- 2 percent while awake and 86 +/- 5 percent during quiet sleep at four months. Han infants had clinical signs of hypoxemia--such as cyanosis during sleep and while feeding--more frequently than Tibetans. CONCLUSIONS: In Lhasa, Tibet, we found that Tibetan newborns had higher arterial oxygen saturation at birth and during the first four months of life than Han newborns. Genetic adaptations may permit adequate oxygenation and confer resistance to the syndrome of pulmonary hypertension and right-heart failure (subacute infantile mountain sickness).

Altitude↗
PubMed2003

[Prevalence of vitamin A deficiency in children under six years of age in Tibet, China].

OBJECTIVE: To understand the prevalence of vitamin A deficiency (VAD) among children under six years of age in Tibet, China. METHODS: Totally, 1 257 children under six years of age were selected from two cities, two farming counties, two semi-farming counties and two livestock farming counties with stratified cluster sampling to asses VAD status in Tibet. Family information, children's feeding and disease history in the previous two weeks were collected by questionnaire. Blood specimen was collected from each child and serum was separated for detection of vitamin A concentration with microfluorescent spectrophotometry. RESULTS: Totally, 1 257 children under six years of age were surveyed, with 635 boys, 622 girls, 862 aged over two years, and 98.5% of Tibet nationality. Six cases of night blindness and two cases of xerophthalmia were detected from them, with prevalence of clinical VAD of 0.96%. Eighteen of 1071 mothers with children under six years of age were found suffering from night blindness, accounting for 1.7%. Clinical cases of VAD both in children and mothers came from all four sampling strata. Average serum concentration of vitamin A and prevalence of subclinical VAD (serum vitamin A lower than or equal to 0.70 micromol/L) was 1.15 micromol/L and 5.4% and 1.12 micromol/L and 4.7% in cities and livestock farming counties, respectively, significantly higher than those in farming (1.04 micromol/L and 11.0%) and semi-farming counties (1.05 micromol/L and 12.3%), respectively, as compared to average levels of 1.09 micromol/L and 8.4% in the autonomous region as a whole. Prevalence of subclinical VAD in children under six months and those aged six to eleven months were 22.2% and 13.3%, respectively, significantly higher than those in children aged one year (8.5%), two to three years (5.4%) and four to five years (7.9%), respectively. There was also significant difference in serum level of vitamin A between children at varied ages, but no significant difference both in serum level of vitamin A and prevalence of subclinical VAD between gender was found. CONCLUSIONS: In general, status of VAD in children of Tibet was milder than that at national level. But, moderate subclinical VAD in some areas, such as farming and semi-farming counties, did exist, so vitamin A supplementation aiming to children, especially those under one year of age, in those areas should be urged.

Age Factors↗
PubMed2004

Use of rural energy resources and eco-environmental degradation in Tibet.

Cattle dung, firewood, and crop straw have being used as survival necessities by farmers and herdsmen for thousands of years in Tibet. Until recently such biotic energy source still constitutes more than 92 per cent of total rural energy consumption due to lack of petroleum, coal and new alternative energy sources. As a result, environmental degradation such as land desertification, soil erosion, grassland degradation and soil fertility reduction is increasingly aggravated, the area of desertified land has increased 1467.5 km2 from 1991 to 1997. Degraded area of grassland has reached 2.60 x 10(7) hm2, increased by 116.1% from 1987 to 1996. To prevent further deterioration of eco-environment in Tibet great efforts should be made to make full use of ample solar energy, wind energy and other biotic energy of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The solar cooking stoves and solar hothouse, expand forest area and replace existing abiotic energy sources with firewood forest should be popularized. This is an urgent task to protect the eco-environment of Tibet today.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Normal faulting in central Tibet since at least 13.5 Myr ago.

Tectonic models for the evolution of the Tibetan plateau interpret observed east-west thinning of the upper crust to be the result of either increased potential energy of elevated crust or geodynamic processes that may be unrelated to plateau formation. A key piece of information needed to evaluate these models is the timing of deformation within the plateau. The onset of normal faulting has been estimated to have commenced in southern Tibet between about 14 Myr ago and about 8 Myr ago and, in central Tibet, about 4 Myr ago. Here, however, we report a minimum age of approximately 13.5 Myr for the onset of graben formation in central Tibet, based on mineralization ages determined with Rb-Sr and 40Ar-39Ar data that post-date a major graben-bounding normal fault. These data, along with evidence for prolonged activity of normal faulting in this and other Tibetan grabens, support models that relate normal faulting to processes occurring beneath the plateau. Thinning of the upper crust is most plausibly the result of potential-energy increases resulting from spatially and temporally heterogeneous changes in thermal structure and density distribution within the crust and upper mantle beneath Tibet. This is supported by recent geophysical and geological data, which indicate that spatial heterogeneity exists in both the Tibetan crust and lithospheric mantle.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1990

[An epidemiological survey of primary angle-closure glaucoma (PACG) in Tibet].

The authors compared the results of a prevalence study of primary angle-closure glaucoma (PACG) in Duilong-Deqing county, suburb of Lhasa, Tibet in 1987, with those of a similar study in Shunyi county, suburb of Beijing in 1985. The prevalences of PACG in subjects over 20 years and over 40 years of age were 0.08% and 0.15% respectively in Tibet, significantly lower than the corresponding figures of 0.62% and 1.17% in Shunyi (P less than 0.001). The incidence of shallow anterior chamber in Tibet was much less than that in Beijing, in consistency with the low prevalence of PACG in Tibet. It was interesting to note that no acute attacks of PACG occurred after mydriasis with neosynephrine among Tibetians, while in Beijing, 6 cases of PACG occurred during mydriatic examination in subjects over 50 years of age.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Environmental fluoride content in Tibet.

As the first report of the environmental fluoride level in Tibet, the determination by the fluoride ion-selective electrode method of fluoride concentration in water, soil, fuel, grains, food, vegetables, and tea was made for the Tibetan people living on various land types with various ecological characteristics. The average level of fluoride concentration in water in Tibet was 0.06 mg/L; the level of dissolved fluoride in the soil was 0.45 mg/kg; the fluoride concentration in main fuels was 0.10 mg/kg; the levels in main grains, food, and vegetables were 0.06-0.33 mg/kg; those in buttered tea and Zanba mixed with brick tea were 3.09-3.61 mg/kg; and water-dissolved fluoride concentrations in the brick tea produced in Sichuan Province and Yunan Province were 533.89-617.32 mg/kg. Tibet is the prevailing area of brick tea fluorosis.

Environmental Exposure↗
PubMed2005

Molecular cloning and expression of IL2 cDNA from the Tibet pig.

Interleukin-2 is a vital cytokine secreted by activated T lymphocytes, and plays important role in the regulation of cellular and humoral immunity of animals. In our experiment, IL2 cDNA of the Tibet Pig was first cloned by RT-PCR from ConA-stimulated lymphocytes in the blood and subcloned into pMD-18 T vector, which then was identified with endonuclease restriction. The sequencing result showed that Tibet pig IL-2 (TPIL-2) cDNA was 503 bp long (ORF was 465 bp) (Genbank accession number: AY 294018). The recombinant prokaryotic and eukaryotic expression plasmids of the cDNA were then constructed to analyse the ability to stimulate the proliferation of porcine lymphocytes in vitro. The recombinant porcine IL-2 expressed in the prokaryotic cells was found to be of 43 kDa molecular mass, which was consistent with a 17.4 kDa protein deduced from the IL-2 cDNA sequence (glutathione S-transferase molecular mass is 26 kDa); the recombinant protein in eukaryotic cells was confirmed by use of specific rabbit anti-porcine IL-2 serum in an ELISA. The bioactivity of TPIL-2 was detected through MTT colorimetry by stimulating the proliferation of pig ConA-stimulated blasts in vitro. The results indicate that the TPIL-2 significantly promoted the proliferation of ConA-stimulated blasts of pig. This confirms that IL-2 cDNA of the Tibet pig was successfully cloned and expressed in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, which lays the foundation for the the preparation of specific recombinant IL-2 protein and development of novel immune adjuvants to raise the immunity of pigs against various infectious pathogens and increase the immunoprotective efficacy of vaccines.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

The dominant hepatitis B virus genotype identified in Tibet is a C/D hybrid.

There are no reports on DNA sequences of hepatitis B virus (HBV) strains from Tibet, although this highland area has a high HBsAg-positive population. We characterized HBV isolates from sera of 26 HBsAg-positive Tibetans. To determine the HBV genotypes and their phylogenetic relationships, we sequenced two genomic regions, one including the pre-S1/pre-S2/S region and the other including the pre-C/C region. The sequences were classified into two different genotypes based on different regions of the genome, except for one isolate. To clarify this finding, two complete HBV genomes that represented the two groups of isolates were sequenced. From the sequencing results, we concluded that HBV strains in Tibet may be classified as genotype C, and there are at least two subgroups. The dominant subgroup is a C/D hybrid with serotype ayw2, and the other is genotype C with serotype adw. This is the first report of complete nucleotide sequences of HBV from Tibet. These results contribute to the investigation of recombinant HBV strains throughout the world and should encourage further study of genotypes and recombination in HBV from this particular region.

Amino Acid Sequence↗