Evidence of non-A, non-B, non-C infection in chronic hepatitis by polymerase chain reaction testing for hepatitis B and C viruses.
OBJECTIVE
Although hepatitis C virus is clearly the major cause of non-A, non-B acute and chronic hepatitis, there is a group of patients with histologically documented chronic hepatitis with no serological marker of hepatitis B and C, nor any other risk factors for liver disease.


METHODS
We have investigated 17 well-characterized patients with chronic active hepatitis. HBV-DNA and HCV-RNA were tested by polymerase chain reaction in 17 serum samples and in six liver biopsies.


RESULTS
Four of the 17 patients had serum HCV-RNA detectable by polymerase chain reaction, while none had HBV-DNA detectable by polymerase chain reaction. Three of the six liver samples gave a positive signal by cyclin A and HLA, and only these were considered for the study. One of the three was HCV-RNA positive, while none was HBV-DNA positive.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results, obtained through careful elimination of all known risk factors for liver disease, strongly suggest that non-A, non-B, non-C hepatotropic virus(es) could be involved in some cases of chronic active liver disease.
Romeo
R
R
Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.
Pol
S
S
Demeret
C
C
Thiers
V
V
Kremsdorf
D
D
Cuillerier
E
E
Berthelot
P
P
Brechot
C
C
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006525:Hepatitis, Viral, Human / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism / Q000821:virology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000378:metabolism
D004279:DNA, Viral; D012367:RNA, Viral