Detection of hepatitis C virus by polymerase chain reaction and response to interferon-alpha therapy: relationship to genotypes of hepatitis C virus.
To investigate the relationship between genotypes of hepatitis C virus and response to interferon-alpha therapy, hepatitis C virus RNA was assayed by polymerase chain reaction with three sets of primers and probes in 70 patients with non-A, non-B chronic hepatitis who received interferon-alpha. Twenty-four patients sustained long-term remissions (complete responders). Polymerase chain reaction for 5'-terminal noncoding region detected hepatitis C virus RNA in 94.3% (66 of 70) of the patients. Polymerase chain reaction for nonstructural region 3, in which primers and a probe were synthesized to be identical to hepatitis C virus-J, detected hepatitis C virus RNA in 40 patients. Polymerase chain reaction for nonstructural region 5-in which sequences of primers and a probe were derived from hepatitis C virus-K2, a genotype different from hepatitis C virus-J--detected hepatitis C virus RNA in 17 patients. Only one patient was positive on both nonstructural region 3 and nonstructural region 5 polymerase chain reaction. Nucleotide sequence of clones obtained from 5' terminal noncoding region polymerase chain reaction products of two patients positive on polymerase chain reaction for nonstructural region 3 and negative on polymerase chain reaction for nonstructural region 5 (group 1) corresponded to that of the hepatitis C virus-J group, and those of clones from two patients negative on polymerase chain reaction for nonstructural region 3 and positive on polymerase chain reaction for nonstructural region 5 (group 2) corresponded to that of hepatitis C virus-K2.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Yoshioka
K
K
Third Department of Internal Medicine, Nagoya University School of Medicine, Japan.
Kakumu
S
S
Wakita
T
T
Ishikawa
T
T
Itoh
Y
Y
Takayanagi
M
M
Higashi
Y
Y
Shibata
M
M
Morishima
T
T
D000328:Adult; D001483:Base Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis
D016898:Interferon-alpha; D012367:RNA, Viral