Genetic Characterization of G Protein in Respiratory Syncytial Virus ON-1 Genotype in Tehran

Abstract

Aim: We investigated the genetic characterization of the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) ON-1 genotypes and their different lineages based on the G gene among children <2 years of age presenting with acute respiratory tract infections in Tehran, Iran. Materials & methods: A phylogenetic tree from the Iranian samples and ON-1 strains of various parts of the world were constructed. The amino acid composition of the RSV G protein of the ON-1 genotype was mapped. Results: Human RSV ON-1 genotypes from the Iranian samples clustered in three lineages. The most common amino acid substitutions were as follows: X218Q, I240S, L289P, Y304H and L310P. Conclusion: Continuing molecular epidemiological surveys in other regions of Iran will provide deeper insight into the nature of this replacement of the dominant RSV genotype from GA2 to ON-1 in Iran.

Keywords:

• genotype
• infection
• molecular epidemiology
• mutation: phylogenetic analysis
• pediatrics
• respiratory syncytial virus

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank our colleagues in Virology Department, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences. The authors of the present study are grateful to E Faghihloo (Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran) for his help with practical experiments.

Financial & competing interests disclosure

This study was funded by School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Grant No. 37946. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Ethical conduct of research

The authors state that they have obtained appropriate institutional review board approval or have followed the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki for all human or animal experimental investigations. In addition, for investigations involving human subjects, informed consent has been obtained from the participants involved.