Suppression of skin reactivity to purified protein derivative by hepatitis C virus among HTLV-I carriers in Japan.
In a population endemic for HTLV-I and hepatitis C virus (HCV), HTLV-I infection has been associated with a suppressed cell-mediated immunity measured by anergy to purified protein derivative (PPD). However, the effect of HCV and the impact of coinfection with HTLV-I and HCV have not been previously evaluated. To approach this issue, PPD reactivity was analyzed among 300 study subjects in the community-based Miyazaki Cohort Study. An erythema of <10 mm in diameter 48 hours after subcutaneous injection of the antigen defined PPD anergy. Logistic regression was used to estimate the relative risks. With adjustment for age, gender, and HTLV-I seropositivity, anti-HCV positivity was not independently associated with PPD anergy (odds ratio [OR] = 1.1; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.6-1.9). Subjects with both anti-HCV and anti-HTLV-I had a fivefold risk of PPD anergy relative to those free of both infections (OR = 5.2; 95% CI = 1.9-13.8). The risk was nearly threefold among those with anti-HTLV alone (OR = 2.8; 95% CI = 1.4-5.3). Thus, coinfected study subjects were 1.9 times more likely to have PPD anergy compared with those singly infected with HTLV-I (p = .34). HCV infection may slightly increase the risk of PPD anergy among HTLV-I carriers.
Hisada
M
M
Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
Shima
T
T
Okayama
A
A
Mueller
N
N
Tsubouchi
H
H
Stuver
S
S
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002353:Carrier State / Q000276:immunology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004890:Erythema; D015490:HTLV-I Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology*; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000276:immunology*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification
D014764:Viral Proteins