ASTROBIOLOGY SCIENCE CONFERENCE 2006 Washington, DC March 25 – 31, 2006 Viral Evolution HEPATITIS B VIRUS: COMMENTS ON VIRAL AND HUMAN EVOLUTION Baruch S. Blumberg Fox Chase Cancer Center Philadelphia, PA, 19111, USA

1.Hepatitis B Virus is a very common virus. 2.Humans have been infected with virus for a very long time, possibly from the time of the origin of humans. 3.Viruses closely related to HBV (“Hepadna viruses”) are known in many species other than humans. 4.HBV is a major deadly infectious agent. 5.Males are more likely than females to become chronic carriers of HBV and to die as a consequence of infection. 6.HBV related deaths are highest in older males; high HBV prevalence decreases the male to female ratio in older age groups. 7.There are a series of polymorphisms that affect susceptibility to chronic infection.

8.Parents who are carriers of HBV have a higher ratio of males to females in their newborn offspring than do parents who have antibody against the surface antigen of HBV; high HBV incidence increases the male to female ratio at birth. 9.There may be host advantages to the carrier state. 10.The worldwide vaccination program is decreasing the prevalence of HBV. 11.Virus sequences are very common in the human genome. 12.HBV as an “engine” of human evolution. 13.Were viruses an early form of life and, possibly, the earliest form?

Primary Cancer of the Liver –Worldwide: Third most common cause of death from cancer in males Seventh most common cause of death from cancer in females More than a million deaths per year Hepatitis B virus (about 85%) and hepatitis C virus account for most of these cancers Many other factors involved in the pathogenesis

Human Hepatitis Viruses Genome Virus GenomeSize (Kb)EnvelopeClassification HAV RNA7.5 - Picornavirus (Hepatovirus) HBV DNA3.2HBsAgHepadnavirus HCV RNA9.4 +Pestivirus- or Flavivirus-like HDV RNA1.7HBsAgUnclassified HEV RNA7.5 - Claicivirus-like or Alpha-like supergroup

HBV is one of the most common infections in the world. About 600,000 to 1,000,000 deaths per year are attributable to the diseases associated with HBV.

(H. Margolis, Center for Disease Control. Paper presented at Third International Conference on Therapies for Viral Hepatitis, Maui, 12/12/99) Virus Number Infected (Millions) Low 15% 34 Case Fatality Rate Total Deaths (Millions) High 25% 100% 371 HIV HBV PREDICTED DEATHS FROM PREVALENT CARRIERS OF HIV AND HBV

“Hepatitis B is a viral infection of the liver. More than two thousand million (2 billion) people alive today have been infected with the hepatitis B virus. Approximately 350 million are chronically infected and are at high risk of serious illness and death from cirrhosis of the liver and primary liver cancer. Hepatitis B is preventable with a safe and effective vaccine — the first vaccine against cancer.” WHO website, 2004

Age group (years) Mortality per 100,000 py M HBV+M HBV-F HBV+F HBV- MORTALITY BY AGE, GENDER AND HBV RESPONSE HAIMEN CITY, CHINA G. Chen, W. Lin, F. Shen, U. Iloeje, T. London and A. Evans Inter. J. of epid. 2004, in print

HEPATITIS B VIRUS MORPHOLOGY Characteristics Nucleic acid: DNA Classification: hepadnavirus type 1 Serotypes: multiple In vivo replication: reverse transcription in liver and other tissues In vitro propagation: primary hepatocyte culture and transfection by cloned HBV DNA 42 nm 22 nm C HBsAg HBcAgHBV DNA

HEPATITIS B LIKE VIRUSES Hepadnaviruses HumanHomo sapiensHBV GorillaGorilla sp.HBV ChimpanzeePan troglodytesChHBV GibbonFamily HylobatidaeHBV OrangutanPongo pygmaeusHBV Woolly monkey Lagothrix lagotrichaWMHBV Tree shrewTupaia belangeriHBV (KangarooFamily MacropodidaeKHV) Woodchuck or GroundhogMarmota monaxWHV Beechey ground squirrel Spermophilus beecheyiGSHV Arctic squirrelS. parryi kennicottiASHBV Richardson ground squirrel S. richardsoniiRGSHV (Tree squirrelSciurus carolinensis THBV) Pekin duck Anas domesticusDHBV Great blue heronArdea herodiasHHBV Grey heronA. cinereaHHBV Snow gooseAnser caerulescensSGHBV Ross’ gooseA. rossiiRGHBV White StorkCiconia ciconiaSTHBV Demoiselle craneAnthropoides virgo CHBV Grey crowned crane Balearica regulorumCHBV (Stink snakeElaphe carinataSSHV) (Items in parentheses have not been validated. Tree shrews were experimentally infected.)

CONTROL OF HEPATITIS B VIRUS IN CHINA Z.Y. Xu, T.Q. Yan, S.J. Zhao, et al. Shanghai Medical University “Infant HBV immunization has been implemented into public health service in China since 1986… the seropositivity for HBsAg was reduced from 16.3% (879/5397) of historical controls to 1.43% (70/4886) in cross-sectional study and 1.81% (210/11582) in a cohort study.”

In the United States, the number of new HBV infections per year has declined from an average of 260,000 in the 1980s to about 78,000 in The highest rate of disease occurs in the age group. Greatest decline is the consequence of the routine HBV vaccination program among children and adolescents. There are an estimated 1.25 million chronically infected Americans, of whom 20-30% acquired their infection in childhood. CDC Website, 2004 HBV VACCINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

 A universal childhood vaccination program was undertaken between 1981 and 1983 in Native Americans in Alaska, USA (McMahon, et al., 1996).  Acute hepatitis B infection dropped from 215 cases/100,000 before the vaccination program, to 7 to 14 cases in 1993 after the program was in place. In 1995, no cases were reported. HBV VACCINATION IN ALASKA, USA

As of May 2003, 151 (79%) of 192 national members of the WHO had universal childhood vaccination programs. There are 89 member states that have been designated as having a high prevalence of HBV carriers. Sixty four (72%) have universal infant vaccination programs. It is the goal of the WHO to have vaccination programs in all countries by Hepatitis B Virus Worldwide Vaccination Program

Distribution of Australia Antigen (HBsAg) by Gender Marshall Islands, USTTPI Male Female Total Cebu, Philippines Male Female Total Manila, Philippines Male Female Total Cashinahua, Peru Male Female Total Number Number Positive Percent Positive Blumberg, et al, Amer. J. Human Genetics 18, 594, 1966

Parent’s response To HBV Either parent HBsAg + : anti-HBs – Both parents HBsAg - : anti-HBs – Both parents HBsAg - : either parent anti-HBs + Couples (No.) Live births Male Females 60 (1.8 ± 0.2) 51 (1.8 ± 0.2) 24 (1.6 ± 0.1) 24 (0.7 ± 0.1) 35 (1.2 ± 0.2) 22 (1.4 ± 0.1) Sex ratio 250 (161,429)* 146 (96,230)* 109 (91,131)* PLATI, GREECE. NUMBER OF MALE AND FEMALE LIVE BIRTHS ACCORDING TO THE RESPONSES TO HBV OF PARENTS *In parentheses, the 5 percent confidence limits. Blumberg, B.S. Sex differences in response to Hepatitis B Virus, Arthritis and Rheumatism,22, 1261, 1979

Hepatitis B and Sex Ratio: Individual Level Estimates Notes: This table shows sex ratios among the children of carrier and non-carrier parents in four regions. Data were collected by testing married women and, in all cases except for Greenland, their husbands for HBV. Detailed reproductive histories were also collected. The table represents all births to women in those samples, with generally more than one birth to each women. The last two studies (Greece 2 and France) were designed specifically to test the hypothesis that HBV affects offspring sex ratio, and were run after the original theory was expressed. Location Greenland Kar Kar Island Greece 1 Philippines Greece 2 France HBV Status Positive Negative Positive Negative Positive Negative Positive Negative Positive Negative Positive Negative Sons Sex Ratio Daughters From Oster, E. 2004

Notes: Sex ratio is number of boys for each girl. Only countries with more than 15,000 people used to caclulate HBV pravalence are included. Citations for each country are in Appendix B. Sex Ratio at Birth SEX RATIO AND HEPATITIS, WORLD Hepatitis Rate (%) Brazil Belarus Bangladesh Iran Malaysia Singapore Israel Pakistan China Mexico Turkey France Ireland Greece South Korea Spain Australia Italy Poland Japan Oster, E., Hepatitis B and the Case of the Missing Women, Presentation, October 12, 2004 N. Amer & W. Europe

EFFECTS OF VACCINATION PROGRAM ALASKA High HBV prevalence among Alaskan Native Americans; low among non-Native American Universal vaccination program (including catch- up) instituted in early 1980s. Oster, E., Hepatitis B and the Case of the Missing Women, Presentation, October 12, 2004

CHANGES IN SEX RATIO IN ALASKA BEFORE AND DURING VACCINATION PROGRAM Native American High HBV Native American Low HBV Non-Native American Oster, E., Hepatitis B and the Case of the Missing Women, Presentation, October 12, 2004

HBV explains about 50% of the missing women overall: over 90% in China, 11% in India Vaccination programs appear to decrease sex ratio Oster, E., Hepatitis B and the Case of the Missing Women, Presentation, October 12, 2004

Microorganism Gene Affinity Clusters

Microorganism Gene Affinity Clusters (cont.)

HBV and Iron in Down’s Syndrome Patients With and Without HBsAg Increased Hemoglobin, Hematocrit, Serum Iron and decreased Total Iron Binding Capacity (TIBC) in 20 Down’s Syndrome patients with serum HBsAg compared to 20 without. The differences are significant. HBsAg(+) Mean SD HBsAg(+) Mean SD Hemoglobin g/100ml Hematocrit % Serum Iron  g/100ml TIBC  g/  ml Sutnick, Blumberg, Lustbader. Ann. Int. Med. 81, 855, 1974

Serum Iron Levels (mg/dl) Serum Iron levels in 1) Patients with Down’s Syndrome 2) Patients on renal dialysis and 3) Residents of a rural community in Senegal, West Africa. Blumberg in Szentivanyi and Friedman, Editors, Viruses, Immunity and Immunodeficiency, Plenum 1986 HBsAg (+) HBsAg (-) Number Downs Syndrome MaleFemale Total Renal Dialysis MaleFemale Total Senegal Male Female Total

Large numbers of retroviral sequences (including those of HBV) are found in the human genome. These are often the “fossil” record of viruses that were incorporated into the germ line in previous generations. It is estimated that 8% of the modern human genome is made of retroviral sequences, a larger number than the coding sequences, and they are often highly conserved. Modified from Blumberg, B. S. 2005, Hepatitis B virus. Conjectures on human interactions and the origin of life, in, “Life As We Know It”, Volume 10 of the series “Cellular Origins, Life in Extreme Habitats and Astrobiology” edited by J. Seckbach, Springer, Dordrecht, NL.; and Kilbourne, E. D. (2004). Virus paleontology, disease, and evolution: an introduction. Proc. Amer. Philosophical Society 148: 261 and following articles.

Hepatitis B vaccination is one of the largest worldwide disease prevention programs. It has decreased the spread of HBV, particularly in China and East Asia. It has significantly decreased morbidity from liver disease and prevented the death of millions. HBV vaccination appears to prevent primary cancer of the liver; it is the first widely used preventive cancer vaccine. SUMMARY (1)

There are important non-pathological interactions of HBV with Humans. Parents who are carriers of HBV have a higher ratio of males to females among their offspring than parents who developed antibody against the surface antigen. This may account for the high sex ratios seen in China and in other areas with a high prevalence of HBV infection. The apparent “loss” of females in these populations may be ascribed, at least in part, to HBV infection. In two studied populations the HBV vaccination has decreased the ratio of males to females among newborns. If confirmed, this may have important, biological, demographic and economic effects. SUMMARY (2)

The response of the host to HBV infection is related to a series of polymorphic locii that are, in turn, related to other disease causing agents. There may be advantages to the HBV carrier state at certain periods of the hosts life, i.e. there is increased iron retention in HBV carriers compared to those with anti-HBs and uninfected people. HBV is integrated into the genomes of tens of millions of humans. SUMMARY (3)