Objective: To investigate the TTV- like mini virus (TLMV) infection in Chinese patients with non A-G hepatitis and to analyse sequence of 5' non-coding region (5'NCR)of TLMV.
Methods: TLMV DNA was detected by nested - PCR from 53 serum samples of non A-G hepatitis patients without TTV infection. PCR products were cloned and sequenced.
Results: TLMV DNA were positive in 37 of 53 patients (69.8%). The sequence of 5' NCR of 8 TLMV isolates was compared with that reported by Takahashi (GenBank Accession No. ab 026930-026931) and showed nucleotide identity between 64% - 83%.
Conclusions: The results of this study indicated that TLMV infection is common in TTV negative patients with non A-G hepatitis. The 5' NCR sequence of TLMV showed a great degree of diversity. The pathogenicity of TLMV and its relationship to non A-G hepatitis need to be confirmed and further study is required.