Quantitative evaluation of hepatitis C virus RNA in patients with concurrent human immunodeficiency virus infections.
Quantitation of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) provides a powerful epidemiologic and therapeutic method for the evaluation of infected patients. In this study semiquantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is compared with a new branched DNA signal amplification methodology. Samples from HCV-infected patients as well as from human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients were evaluated. Reverse transcriptase PCR correlated well with the branched DNA assay (r = 0.7036, P < 0.05). HCV RNA was found to occur at significantly higher titers (P < 0.05) in patients coinfected with the human immunodeficiency virus compared with titers in those infected with HCV alone. Immune status as defined by the CD4+ count was not associated with the observed difference in viral titer.
Sherman
K E
KE
Fitzsimons Army Medical Center, Aurora, Colorado 80045-5001.
O'Brien
J
J
Gutierrez
A G
AG
Harrison
S
S
Urdea
M
M
Neuwald
P
P
Wilber
J
J
D001483:Base Sequence; D005784:Gene Amplification; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis*
D012367:RNA, Viral