Prevalence and Follow-Up of Occult HCV Infection in an Italian Population Free of Clinically Detectable Infectious Liver Disease

Marco, Laura De; Manzini, Paola; Trevisan, Morena; Gillio-Tos, Anna; Danielle, Franca; Balloco, Cinzia; Pizzi, Alessandra; Filippo, Eleonora De; D’Antico, Sergio; Violante, Beatrice; Valfrè, Adriano; Curti, Franco; Merletti, Franco; Richiardi, Lorenzo

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0043541

Cited by 41 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…In a follow-up study of people undergoing phlebotomy therapy [28], 6 subjects with OCI were monitored, with only 2 showing detectable HCV infection in PBMCs at 11 and 13 months of follow-up, demonstrating a persistent infection. In the other 4 subjects, none were found to be HCV RNA positive using their PBMCs, even after mitogen stimulation, which demonstrated certain clearance.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence of Occult Hepatitis C Virus Infection among Blood Donors in Jiangsu, China

Lin

Chen²,

Zhu³

et al. 2016

Intervirology

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Objective: In 2010, only 1 donor blood sample was found to be anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) negative and HCV RNA positive, as detected by nucleic acid testing. In occult HCV infection (OCI), HCV RNA is found in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). We investigated the prevalence of OCI among blood donors. Methods: We collected 513 samples from 334 eligible and 179 deferred donors, including 55 anti-HCV-positive, 113 alanine aminotransferase (ALT)-elevated, and 11 hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg)-positive blood donors. PBMCs were isolated, the 5′-untranslated region of HCV RNA was amplified by reverse transcription nested PCR, and the genotype of the core region was determined. Results: No HCV RNA was detected among the eligible samples. Among the deferred donors, 15 (27.2%) had detectable HCV RNA in 55 anti-HCV PBMC specimens. HCV RNA was detected in 1 (9.1%) HBsAg-positive and 9 (8%) ALT-elevated samples. The prevalence of OCI in the blood donors was 2.2% (10/458). HCV genotypes were determined in 10 subjects, indicating that 2 (20.0%) were subtype 2a, 7 (70.0%) were 1b, and 1 (10%) was 6a. Conclusions: This study showed that OCI does exist among Chinese blood donors. However, to determine the epidemiology and outcome of this HCV infection, further follow-up with more participants and patients receiving blood components with OCI is needed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence of Occult Hepatitis C Virus Infection among Blood Donors in Jiangsu, China

Lin

Chen²,

Zhu³

et al. 2016

Intervirology

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“…It is noted that OCI has been detected among various patient groups worldwide; for instance, in participants with cryptogenic liver disease [Castillo et al, ; Bokharaei‐Salim et al, ], in at‐risk individuals for HCV infection such as haemodialysis patients [Barril et al, ; Thongsawat et al, ] and haemophilic individuals [Parodi et al, ], in patients with lymphoproliferative disorders [Youssef et al, ; Farahani et al, ], in kidney transplant patients [Baid‐Agrawal et al, ], in candidates for liver transplant with cryptogenic cirrhosis [Keyvani et al, ], in patients with primary and secondary glomerular nephropathies [Castillo et al, ], in patients with active HBV infection [De Marco et al, ], in HIV‐infected individuals [Gatserelia et al, ], and also in general population [De Marco et al, , ]. Of course, there are some reports where researchers have found no signs of this infection for example, in kidney transplant patients [Nicot et al, ], in mixed cryoglobulinemia [Giannini et al, ], in autoimmune disorders [Welker and Zeuzem, ], in patients experiencing an immunodepression condition [Pisaturo et al, ], and in non‐Hodgkin lymphoma [Richiardi et al, ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence of occult hepatitis C virus infection in the Iranian patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection

et al. 2016

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Occult hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a new form of chronic HCV infection described by the presence of the genomic HCV-RNA in liver biopsy and/or peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) samples, and undetectable levels or absence of HCV-RNA and in the absence or presence of anti HCV antibodies in the plasma specimens. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the occurrence of occult HCV infection (OCI) among Iranian subjects infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) using RT-nested PCR. From March 2014 until April 2015, 109 Iranian patients with established HIV infection were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. After extraction of viral RNA from the plasma and PBMC samples, HCV-RNA status was examined by RT-nested PCR using primers from the 5'-NTR. HCV genotyping was conducted using RFLP analysis. For the confirmation of HCV genotyping by RFLP method, the PCR products were sequenced. Of the 109 patients, 50 were positive for antibodies against HCV. The HCV-RNA was detected in PBMC specimens in 6 (10.2%) out of the total 59 patients negative for anti-HCV Abs and undetectable plasma HCV-RNA and also from 4 (8.0%) out of the total 50 patients positive for anti-HCV Abs and undetectable plasma HCV-RNA. HCV genotyping analysis showed that 6 (60.0%) patients were infected with HCV subtype 3a, 3 (30.0%) were infected with HCV subtype 1a and 1 (10.0%) patient was infected with HCV subtype 1b. This study revealed the incidence of OCI (9.2%) in HIV-infected Iranian patients. Hence, designing prospective studies focusing on the detection of OCI in these patients would provide more information. J. Med. Virol. 88:1960-1966, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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“…Seronegative OCI is defined by the presence of HCV-RNA in liver in the absence of anti-HCV or HCV-RNA in serum tested by conventional techniques [Castillo et al, 2004], although these patients may have also HCV-RNA in PBMC and low levels of circulating HCV particles [Castillo et al, 2005;Bartolom e et al, 2007]. Since its first description in patients with cryptogenic hepatitis, seronegative OCI has been found in several clinical conditions and even in apparently healthy individuals [Barril et al, 2008;Roque-Cu ellar et al, 2011;De Marco et al, 2012;Farahani et al, 2013]. Later works showed that viral RNA persists over time in PBMC and in serum, showing that viral replication continues in these patients although at a very low level [Castillo et al, 2011].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interleukin‐28B polymorphisms and interferon gamma inducible protein‐10 serum levels in seronegative occult hepatitis C virus infection

Bartolomé

Castillo

Quiroga

et al. 2015

Journal of Medical Virology

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Polymorphisms upstream interleukin (IL)-28B gene and serum levels of interferon gamma inducible protein-10 (IP-10) are associated with spontaneous and treatment-induced hepatitis C virus (HCV) clearance. Patients with seronegative occult HCV infection are anti-HCV and serum HCV-RNA negative but have viral RNA in liver and abnormal values of liver enzymes. We examined if the rs12979860 polymorphism of IL-28B and serum IP-10 levels differ between chronic and seronegative occult CV infection. IL-28B polymorphism was determined with allele specific TaqMan probes in total DNA isolated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells and IP-10 by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in serum from 99 patients with seronegative occult HCV infection and 130 untreated patients with chronic hepatitis C. IL-28B genotypes were also determined in 54 healthy volunteers. Prevalence of the IL-28B CC genotype was significantly higher in seronegative occult HCV infection (52/99; 52.5%) than in chronic hepatitis C (32/130; 24.6%, P < 0.0001) or healthy controls (19/54: 32.5%, P = 0.039). Among patients with seronegative occult HCV infection, HCV-RNA load in liver was significantly lower in those with the IL-28B CC genotype than in those with CT + TT genotypes (2.8 × 10(5) ± 5.8 × 10(4) vs. 4.1 × 10(5) ± 5.9 × 10(4) copies/μg of total RNA respectively; P = 0.023). Mean serum IP-10 levels were significantly lower in patients with seronegative occult HCV infection than in patients with chronic hepatitis C (160.8 ± 17.9 vs. 288.7 ± 13.3 pg/ml respectively; P < 0.0001). These findings suggest that the host immune response plays an important role in seronegative occult HCV infection in comparison with chronic hepatitis C.

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Prevalence and Follow-Up of Occult HCV Infection in an Italian Population Free of Clinically Detectable Infectious Liver Disease

Cited by 41 publications

References 30 publications

Prevalence of Occult Hepatitis C Virus Infection among Blood Donors in Jiangsu, China

Prevalence of Occult Hepatitis C Virus Infection among Blood Donors in Jiangsu, China

Prevalence of occult hepatitis C virus infection in the Iranian patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection

Interleukin‐28B polymorphisms and interferon gamma inducible protein‐10 serum levels in seronegative occult hepatitis C virus infection

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