Antibodies against the GB virus C envelope 2 protein before liver transplantation protect against GB virus Cde novo infection

Abstract

GB virus C (GBV-C) is a newly discovered RNA virus related to the Flaviviridae family. Although GBV-C is not yet associated with any cause of liver disease, a humoral immune response against the GBV-C envelope 2 (E2) protein has been observed. Therefore, we studied the prevalence and clinical relevance of GBV-C RNA and anti-E2 antibodies in patients undergoing orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). In addition, we tested whether the prevalence of anti-E2 antibodies may protect against GBV-C infection. Of the 182 liver recipients included in this study, 117 of these were evaluated for GBV-C recurrence or de novo infection. GBV-C RNA was detected in sera or plasma using single-tube, reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, and anti-E2 antibody was detected by enzyme immunoassay (EIA). Cumulative patient and graft survival was tested by using Kaplan-Meier analysis. The independence of prognostic values was assessed by using Cox regression analysis. Before OLT, GBV-C RNA and anti-E2 were detected in 4.0% to 28.6% and 10.0% to 68.8%, respectively, of patients suffering from different forms of chronic liver diseases. GBV-C reinfection after OLT was determined in 85.7%. Of the patients without evidence of exposure to GBV-C before OLT, 30 of 65 (46.2%) became GBV-C RNA positive after OLT. None of the 38 patients who were anti-E2 antibody positive before OLT became GBV-C RNA positive after OLT. Neither patient nor graft survival was significantly affected by the presence of either GBV-C RNA or anti-E2 antibody before OLT. Our data indicate that 1) GBV-C RNA positive patients have a high risk of reinfection after OLT, and 2) the presence of anti-E2 antibodies before OLT is associated with an absence of GBV-C infection after OLT, which may indicate a protective role of anti-E2 antibodies. (HEPATOLOGY 1998;28:379-384.)

Tropism of human pegivirus (formerly known as GB virus C/hepatitis G virus) and host immunomodulation: insights into a highly successful viral infection

“…Anti-HPgV antibodies are not usually detected during active infection, but antibody against the envelope glycoprotein E2 appears following viral clearance (Gutierrez et al, 1997;Tacke et al, 1997;Tanaka et al, 1998a;Thomas et al, 1997). These E2 antibodies appear to provide partial protection against reinfection (Elkayam et al, 1999;Tillmann et al, 1998). Thus, antibody to E2 represents a marker of prior infection, although antibody levels may decrease and become undetectable over time (Gutierrez et al, 1997;Tacke et al, 1997;Tanaka et al, 1998a).…”

An 85-aa segment of the GB virus type C NS5A phosphoprotein inhibits HIV-1 replication in CD4 + Jurkat T cells

“…Because of shared modes of transmission, up to 86% of HIVpositive individuals have evidence of active (39.6%) or prior (46%) GBV-C infection (1,2). Although viremia may persist for decades in some individuals, most immune-competent hosts clear GBV-C infection concurrently with the development of antibodies to the envelope glycoprotein E2 (3,4), which appear to confer some, although not complete, protection against reinfection (4). Although no disease entity has yet been associated with GBV-C infection (reviewed in refs.…”

Effect of early and late GB virus C viraemia on survival of HIV‐infected individuals: a meta‐analysis

“…Although GBV-C was initially thought to be associated with chronic hepatitis, extensive investigation failed to identify any association between this virus and any clinical illness [3][4][5][6][7]. GBV-C is, phylogenetically, closely related to hepatitis C virus, but appears to replicate primarily in lymphocytes, and poorly if at all in hepatocytes [4][5][6][7][8].The majority of immune-competent individuals appear to clear GBV-C viraemia within the first few years following infection [7,9] and although the time interval between GBV-C infection and clearance of viraemia (detection of GBV-C RNA in plasma) is not known, infection may persist for decades in some individuals. Approximately 2% of healthy US blood donors are Conflict of interest: JTS has a patent on an infectious GBV-C clone.…”