Patients infected with the same hepatitis C virus strain display different kinetics of the isolate-specific antibody response.
The antibody response to the hypervariable region of the E2 protein (HVR1) of hepatitis C virus (HCV) was studied in 5 patients who were infected by a common virus strain during an outbreak in a hemodialysis unit. Two patients resolved the infection, while 3 developed chronic HCV infection. For studying the antibody response to HVR1 during the early phase of infection, a Western blot assay using recombinant phage displaying HVR1 was developed. The 2 patients with resolving infection had a more rapid antibody response to HVR1 than did the patients developing chronic infection. Anti-HVR1 antibodies were repeatedly absent in 1 of the chronically infected patients. Antibodies to recombinant E2 protein occurred later than the anti-HVR1 antibodies and did not correlate with resolution of the infection. Thus, the present results suggest that early appearance of antibodies to the HVR1 may predict clearance of HCV infection.
Allander
T
T
Karolinska Institute, Department of Medicine, Karolinska Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
Beyene
A
A
Jacobson
S H
SH
Grillner
L
L
Persson
M A
MA
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D001435:Bacteriophages; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000276:immunology*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000276:immunology; D006435:Renal Dialysis; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins / Q000276:immunology*
D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins; C091015:glycoprotein E2, Hepatitis C virus