Detection of antibodies to Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus: a new approach using K8.1 ELISA and a newly developed recombinant LANA ELISA.

Detection of antibodies to Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV or Human herpesvirus 8) is a topic of ongoing controversy. KSHV expresses multiple antigens and host responses are highly variable. We have previously described an algorithm for determining KSHV infection based on K8.

Hepatitis B and C virus infection and the risk of biliary tract cancer: a population-based study in China.

Emerging data suggest that chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections may also play a role in extrahepatic bile duct cancers. To test the HBV hypothesis, we examined the relationship of HBV/HCV infection with risks of biliary tract cancer and biliary stones in a population-based case-control study conducted in Shanghai, China. Standard assays were used to detect HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) and antibodies against HBV core antigen (anti-HBc) and hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) in sera from 417 patients with biliary tract cancers, 517 with biliary stones, and 762 healthy controls randomly selected from the population.

Seroprevalence of hepatitis C virus and hepatitis B virus among San Francisco injection drug users, 1998 to 2000.

Unlabelled: Previous studies suggest that most injection drug users (IDUs) become infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) soon after initiating drug use. The Urban Health Study (UHS) recruited serial cross-sections of IDUs in the San Francisco Bay area from 1986 to 2005. In the current study, we determined the prevalence of antibody to HCV and HBV (core) among UHS participants during 1998 to 2000.

Hepatitis C virus genotype 4 in Ugandan children and their mothers.

In Kampala, Uganda, in 2001, hepatitis C virus antibodies were found in 27 (4%) of 603 children and in 62 (12%) of 525 of their mothers. However, only approximately 10% of positive results were confirmed by reverse transcription-PCR, which suggests frequent false-positive results or viral clearance. All sequenced types were genotype 4.

Real-time PCR assay for detection and quantification of hepatitis B virus genotypes A to G.

The detection and quantification of hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA play an important role in diagnosing and monitoring HBV infection as well as assessing therapeutic response. The great variability among HBV genotypes and the enormous range of clinical HBV DNA levels present challenges for PCR-based amplification techniques. In this study, we describe the development, evaluation, and validation of a novel real-time PCR assay designed to provide accurate quantification of DNA from all eight HBV genotypes in patient plasma specimens.

Serum concentrations of 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane (DDT) and 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethylene (DDE) and risk of primary liver cancer.

Background: 1,1,1-Trichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane (DDT) exposure has been demonstrated to cause liver tumors in laboratory rodents. DDT's persistent metabolite and environmental degradation product, 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethylene (DDE), has also been associated with liver tumors in laboratory animals. Whether DDT and DDE are associated with hepatocarcinogenesis in humans is not clear.

Distribution of Epstein-Barr viral load in serum of individuals from nasopharyngeal carcinoma high-risk families in Taiwan.

The utility of EBV load as a tumor marker in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients suggests that it might also serve as a screening test for individuals who are at high risk for developing NPC. We previously demonstrated that unaffected individuals from high-risk families had elevated anti-EBV antibody levels compared to community controls. In this study, we measured EBV load using 2 different real-time PCR assays (targeting BamH1W and polymerase gene sequences, respectively) carried out in 2 independent research labs in serum samples from 19 untreated NPC cases, 11 healthy community controls and 100 unaffected individuals from families in which 2 or more individuals were affected with NPC.