Human adenovirus type 19: genomic and bioinformatics analysis of a keratoconjunctivitis isolate

Virus Res. 2009 Jan;139(1):122-6. doi: 10.1016/j.virusres.2008.10.001. Epub 2008 Dec 4.

Abstract

Human adenovirus type 19 (HAdV-19) is a major etiologic agent of epidemic keratoconjunctivitis (EKC), a common and severe eye infection associated with long-term visual morbidity due to persistent corneal inflammation. Ironically, while the prototype strain of HAdV-19 does not cause eye infections, other isolates of the serotype have caused major outbreaks of EKC. Here we have sequenced a clinical isolate of HAdV-19 (HAdV-19 strain C) from a human patient with EKC. Global pairwise alignment of HAdV-19C to other HAdV species D serotypes identified areas of sequence divergence in the penton base (host cell internalization signal), hexon (principal viral capsid structural protein), E3 (site of immunomodulatory genes), and fiber (host cell-binding ligand) regions. Comparison of HAdV-19 strain C to the recently sequenced HAdV-37, another EKC causing serotype, identified sequence diversity in the penton base and hexon, but sequence conservation in the E3 and fiber regions. Elucidation of the HAdV-19C genome will facilitate future studies into the pathogenesis of EKC, and may shed light on the genetic determinants of corneal tropism.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adenovirus Infections, Human / epidemiology
  • Adenovirus Infections, Human / genetics
  • Adenovirus Infections, Human / virology*
  • Adenoviruses, Human / classification
  • Adenoviruses, Human / genetics
  • Adenoviruses, Human / isolation & purification*
  • Computational Biology
  • DNA, Viral / genetics*
  • DNA, Viral / isolation & purification
  • Genome, Viral*
  • Humans
  • Keratoconjunctivitis / genetics
  • Keratoconjunctivitis / virology*
  • Phylogeny
  • Sequence Analysis, DNA

Substances

  • DNA, Viral