title: Determination of hepatitis delta virus RNA by polymerase chain reaction in acute and chronic delta infection.
abstract: The objective of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of hepatitis delta virus (HDV) RNA detection by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in acute and chronic D hepatitis and to correlate with HDV-RNA detection by dot blot and hepatic delta antigen. Serum samples from 33 patients with acute hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)-positive hepatitis (15 with hepatitis B and D coinfection, 8 with HDV superinfection, and 10 with acute hepatitis B), 85 patients with chronic HBsAg-positive hepatitis (73 with chronic D hepatitis and 12 with chronic B hepatitis), and consecutive serum samples from nine patients with chronic D hepatitis treated with interferon alfa-2b were studied. HDV-RNA was detected by PCR in 93% of the patients with hepatitis B and D coinfection, in 100% of the patients with hepatitis D superinfection, and in 1 of the 10 patients with acute hepatitis B who subsequently seroconverted to total antibody to hepatitis delta antigen (HDAg), whereas HDV-RNA was found by dot blot technique in 60% of the hepatitis B and D coinfection cases, in 62.5% of the patients with hepatitis D superinfection, and in none of the acute hepatitis B cases. In chronic D hepatitis, HDV-RNA tested positive by PCR assay in 97% of patients with intrahepatic HDAg, in one patient with undetectable hepatic HDAg, and in none of the patients with chronic hepatitis B. In the treated patients, HDV-RNA was observed to become negative by PCR only in the three patients who had a persistent response to interferon.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Hospital General Universitario Valle Hebrón, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jardi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Buti
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cotrina
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rodriguez
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Allende
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Esteban
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Guardia
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001483:Base Sequence; D002648:Child; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D003699:Hepatitis D / Q000235:genetics* / Q000628:therapy / Q000821:virology; D003698:Hepatitis Delta Virus / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D007118:Immunoassay; D007372:Interferons / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015335:Molecular Probes / Q000235:genetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D015335:Molecular Probes; D012367:RNA, Viral; D007372:Interferons