Non-A, non-B hepatitis specific antibodies directed at host-derived epitope: implication for an autoimmune process.
A cDNA clone (GOR47-1) bearing an epitope with an aminoacid sequence GRRGQKAKSNPNRPL (GOR epitope) was isolated from the plasma of a laboratory chimpanzee infected with human non-A, non-B hepatitis (NANBH) agent. The epitope was not encoded by reported sequences of hepatitis C virus (HCV) but instead was coded for by a host cellular sequence. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed for antibodies to the GOR epitope (anti-GOR). A patient with acute NANBH produced both IgM and IgG classes of anti-GOR in the acute phase of the illness, with concentrations of IgG class anti-GOR rising when anti-HCV became detectable. Anti-GOR was detected in serum from 59 (81%) of 73 patients with chronic NANBH, 40 (65%) of 62 with NANB liver cirrhosis, and 25 (63%) of 40 NANB patients with primary hepatocellular carcinoma, but in only less than 10% of patients with chronic liver diseases due to hepatitis B virus, alcohol, or an autoimmune disorder, and in only 2% of voluntary blood donors. Circulating HCV-RNA was detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in most patients seropositive for anti-GOR but negative for anti-HCV. Detection of anti-GOR would therefore help in the diagnosis of NANBH and in reducing the occurrence of post-transfusion hepatitis.
Mishiro
S
S
Institute of Immunology, Tokyo, Japan.
Hoshi
Y
Y
Takeda
K
K
Yoshikawa
A
A
Gotanda
T
T
Takahashi
K
K
Akahane
Y
Y
Yoshizawa
H
H
Okamoto
H
H
Tsuda
F
F
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases; D001483:Base Sequence; D015153:Blotting, Western; D004270:DNA, Circular / Q000235:genetics; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D000939:Epitopes / Q000235:genetics*; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies / Q000276:immunology*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D002679:Pan troglodytes
D004270:DNA, Circular; D000939:Epitopes; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies