title: Clinical usefulness of an assay for hepatitis C virus core in the diagnosis of non-A, non-B hepatitis and monitoring of the response to interferon therapy.
abstract: The clinical utility of a new JCC-2 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit that detects and quantitates anti-hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) core antibodies (anti-HCc) was investigated. Serum samples were obtained from 102 patients with various non-A, non-B liver diseases, including 19 cases of chronic hepatitis type C who had been treated with interferon (IFN). The results of the anti-JCC-2 assay were significantly correlated with serum HCV-RNA positivity. Patients who were HCV-RNA positive exhibited a high rate of positivity for anti-JCC-2 (72.2% in acute hepatitis, > 90% in chronic liver diseases). The geometric mean of the anti-JCC-2 titre was not significantly different among different stages of chronic liver disease (among CPH, CAH and LC). The anti-JCC-2 titre decreased gradually in cases that became HCV-RNA negative after IFN therapy. If HCV-RNA positivity recurred, the anti-JCC-2 titre increased, indicating that serial measurements of the anti-JCC-2 titre are useful for monitoring the antiviral effect of IFN treatment. These results suggest that quantification of anti-HCc by the anti-JCC-2 assay is superior to the semi-quantification of circulating HCV-RNA provided by monitoring of IFN therapy. Monitoring of HCV-RNA status using reverse transcription-nested polymerase chain reaction (RT-nested PCR) is possible, but it is technically demanding and too expensive for routine clinical use.
authors.affiliation: Third Department of Internal Medicine, Kumamoto University School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kawano
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fujiyama
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Taura
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Goto
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chikazawa
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sato
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies / Q000097:blood*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D007372:Interferons / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood; D014758:Viral Core Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D014766:Viremia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy
chemical_list: D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D012367:RNA, Viral; D014758:Viral Core Proteins; C069130:nucleocapsid protein, Hepatitis C virus; D007372:Interferons