TY - JOUR
T1 - Search for hepatitis C virus extrahepatic replication sites in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
T2 - Specific detection of negative- strand viral RNA in various tissues
AU - Laskus, Tomasz
AU - Radkowski, Marek
AU - Wang, Lian F.U.
AU - Vargas, Hugo
AU - Rakela, Jorge
PY - 1998
Y1 - 1998
N2 - The existence of extrahepatic reservoirs of hepatitis C virus (HCV) replication remains highly controversial. We searched for the presence of HCV-RNA negative strand in various tissues from eight HCV-infected patients who died of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)-related complications. Negative-strand RNA was detected by a Tth-based reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), which was optimized for sensitivity and strand specificity on synthetic RNA templates. This assay was capable of detecting about 102 genomic Eq molecules of the correct strand while unspecifically detecting ≥ 108 genomic Eq molecules of the incorrect strand. Negative-strand viral RNA was detected in all but one liver, in lymph nodes (5 cases), in pancreas (5 cases), in adrenal gland (2 cases), in thyroid (2 cases), in bone marrow (1 case), and in spleen (1 case). These data suggest a possible presence of HCV replication sites outside the liver, at least in AIDS patients. Whether these findings relate to various extrahepatic manifestations of HCV infection remains to be determined.
AB - The existence of extrahepatic reservoirs of hepatitis C virus (HCV) replication remains highly controversial. We searched for the presence of HCV-RNA negative strand in various tissues from eight HCV-infected patients who died of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)-related complications. Negative-strand RNA was detected by a Tth-based reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), which was optimized for sensitivity and strand specificity on synthetic RNA templates. This assay was capable of detecting about 102 genomic Eq molecules of the correct strand while unspecifically detecting ≥ 108 genomic Eq molecules of the incorrect strand. Negative-strand viral RNA was detected in all but one liver, in lymph nodes (5 cases), in pancreas (5 cases), in adrenal gland (2 cases), in thyroid (2 cases), in bone marrow (1 case), and in spleen (1 case). These data suggest a possible presence of HCV replication sites outside the liver, at least in AIDS patients. Whether these findings relate to various extrahepatic manifestations of HCV infection remains to be determined.
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U2 - 10.1002/hep.510280531
DO - 10.1002/hep.510280531
M3 - Article
C2 - 9794927
AN - SCOPUS:0031758094
SN - 0270-9139
VL - 28
SP - 1398
EP - 1401
JO - Hepatology
JF - Hepatology
IS - 5
ER -