Detection and molecular characterization of Torque Teno Virus (TTV) in Uruguay

Abstract Torque Teno Virus (TTV), member of Anelloviridae family, is considered a worldwide distributed emergent virus and is currently classified into seven genogroups. Interestingly, the pathogenicity of TTV remains unclear. However, it has been constantly associated to hepatitis cases of unknown etiology (HUE) as well as extensively studied in concurrent infections with Hepatitis B Virus (HBV), Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus type 1 (HIV-1). In South America, TTV epidemiological data is scant, involving some studies from Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia and Bolivia. The aim of this work was to investigate for the first time in Uruguay the presence of TTV by a nested-PCR system in 85 human serum samples infected with HBV and/or HCV and/or HIV-1 and in HUE cases. Overall, our results reported a TTV infection rate of 79% (67/85). Furthermore, the molecular characterization of Uruguayan strains revealed that one of them clustered in genogroup 1, while the remaining ones formed separate clusters closely related to genogroup 3, which should be confirmed by complete genome sequencing. Further investigation about TTV circulation in Uruguayan population is needed in order to provide additional information about the genetic variability and TTV epidemiology in South America.