HCV RNA in serum and peripheral blood mononuclear cells after successful interferon therapy.

Background/aims: Although hepatitis C virus (HCV) is considered essentially hepatotropic, recent studies suggest that it can also infect peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). Interferon (IFN) seems to suppress hepatic virus expression, so the continued presence of the virus in PBMC might explain why interferon often fails to induce a long-term response. We investigated whether clearance of plasma viraemia after IFN treatment was associated with clearance of viral RNA from PBMC.