Sequence variability among different parvovirus B19 isolates

Parvovirus B19 is the causative agent of a variety of clinical manifestations, ranging from asymptomatic to severe infection. The basis for this complex pattern of B19-associated diseases is as yet poorly understood. In general there are two different possibilities: firstly, the infected individuals may have a genetic or acquired predisposition, which renders them susceptible for a certain course of infection; secondly, differences in the B19 genome may result in different outcomes of infection. In order to investigate this second possibility we have partially sequenced the genomes of 20 different B19 isolates derived from serum samples from patients with various B19-associated diseases. Four distinct regions, which cover nearly half of the genome and include parts of the coding regions of all three major B19 proteins - NS1, VP1 and VP2, were selected for sequencing. Comparisons between the different extracted virus isolates at the DNA and protein levels revealed that isolates from patients with persistent parvovirus B19 infection show a tendency towards higher genome variability with respect to isolates derived from persons with acute infection.