Detection of GB virus C genomic sequence in the cerebrospinal fluid of a HIV-infected patient in China: a case report and literature review

Abstract

Hepatitis G virus or GB virus C (GBV-C) is a human virus of the Flaviviridae family that is structurally and epidemiologically closest to hepatitis C virus, but replicates primarily in lymphocytes. Co-infection with GBV-C has been reported to confer beneficial outcomes in some HIV-positive patients. Up to now, however, studies on GBV-C infection in the central nervous system (CNS) of HIV-infected patient have rarely been reported. Herein, we report on a 32-year-old HIV-1-infected patient with cerebral toxoplasmosis and fungal encephalitis. GBV-C viral loads were detected in CSF by quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and the results showed that GBV-C viral load was 6·5 log copies/ml. We amplified and sequenced the E2 and 5'-untranslated regions from the purified viral RNA from CSF by RT-PCR. Both sequences belong to genotype 3 and there were some minor nucleotide divergence among the E2 sequences from the CSF of the patient. These data suggest that GBV-C may be able to penetrate the blood-brain barrier and colonize the CNS of HIV-infected patients. However, the exact mechanisms and potential effect of the infected GBV-C in CNS on HIV-associated neuropathy needs to be further explored.

Viral Sequences Detection by High-Throughput Sequencing in Cerebrospinal Fluid of Individuals with and without Central Nervous System Disease

“…HPgV-1 was detected in the CSF of two patients without CNS disease and one adult patient with CNS HIV escape. HPgV-1 has for the first time been detected in CNS using HTS on a brain sample of a patient with multiple sclerosis [22] and with RT-PCR in CSF samples from HIV infected patients, and its detection could possibly be linked to concomitant viremia [23,24]. Thus far, HPgV-1 detection in CNS samples has not been associated with any overt disease.…”

Human Pegivirus in Patients with Encephalitis of Unclear Etiology, Poland

“…In the first study, viral sequences were detected postmortem in brain tissue from a patient with multiple sclerosis, not encephalitis ( 15 ). In the second study, the presence of HPgV might have been related to a severely compromised blood–brain barrier; the patient was HIV-positive and had cerebral toxoplasmosis and fungal encephalitis ( 16 ). Although the full-length virus was recovered from the patient’s brain tissue, it is unclear which cells harbored the virus and it was possible that the actual source was blood.…”

Detection of Virus-Related Sequences Associated With Potential Etiologies of Hepatitis in Liver Tissue Samples From Rats, Mice, Shrews, and Bats

“…The evidence indicated that rodent pegivirus might have a wide tropism. Further research, such as cell culture, real-time PCR, and animal model, is required to better understand in the tropism and pathogenicity of it ( George et al, 2006 ; Liu et al, 2016 ).…”