Genetic diversity of hepatitis C virus predicts recurrent disease after liver transplantation.

Approximately 20% of patients receiving liver transplants for end-stage hepatitis C rapidly develop severe allograph fibrosis within the first 24 months after transplant. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) variants were studied in 56 genotype-1-infected subjects with end-stage hepatitis C disease at the time before and 12 months after liver transplant, and post-transplant outcome was followed with serial liver biopsies. In 15 cases, pre-transplant HCV genetic diversity was studied in detail in liver (n=15), serum (n=15), peripheral blood mononuclear cells (n=13), and perihepatic lymph nodes (n=10).

Social structural and behavioral underpinnings of hyperendemic hepatitis C virus transmission in drug injectors.

Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is hyperendemic in drug injectors, yet social structural and behavioral factors underlying transmission are not well established.

Methods: We conducted a case-control study of HCV seroconversion in drug injectors, focusing on transmission within networks. Incident case subjects (n=17) and seronegative control subjects (n=42) reported injection and sex partners and referred as many as 5 for interviewing and blood testing.

Intrahepatic hepatitis C virus replication correlates with chronic hepatitis C disease severity in vivo.

The role of viral factors in the pathogenesis of chronic hepatitis C is unknown. The objective of the present study was to characterize markers of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and replication in liver biopsy specimens obtained from 65 genotype 1-infected subjects, including 31 who were coinfected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and to analyze associations between intrahepatic viral markers and hepatitis C disease severity. The percentages of liver cells harboring HCV genomes (%G) and replicative-intermediate RNAs (%RI) were evaluated using strand-specific in situ hybridization, while HCV core and NS3 antigens were assessed by immunocytochemistry.