[Basic examination of hepatitis C virus (HCV) core protein quantitative method and the clinical significance in during the follow-up of the patients after interferon treatment].
We evaluated the basic efficacy and clinical usefulness of "Imucheck F-HCV Ag-core(KOKUSAI)" (Ag-Core). This kit has been developed using monoclonal antibodies against hepatitis C virus (HCV) core protein. This character is different from RT-PCR assay or branched DNA assay, which have been developed for the detection of HCV-RNA. The reproducibility of Ag-Core assay was supported by vigorous mixture of reagents during the manual pretreatment of samples. The correlation between Ag-Core assay and Amplicor HCV (RT-PCR) assay was relatively good (correlation coefficient: r was 0.735 and the qualitative accordance rate was 96.6%). The change of viral load during the IFN-alpha treatment was also in good accordance between the values determined by Ag-Core and Amplicor-HCV assay. Since it is simple, cheaper and faster than the Amplicor-HCV assay. Quantitation of HCV core protein by the Ag-Core assay is useful for monitoring the therapeutic efficacy of IFN-alpha treatment.
Division of Blood Transfusion, Shimane Medical University, 89-1 Enya-cho, Izumo, Shimane 693-8501, Japan.
Y
Y
Suyama
S
S
Mishima
Y
Y
Iwata
H
H
Ishikura
H
H
Shibata
J
J
Masuda
D016903:Drug Monitoring; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D007372:Interferons / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014758:Viral Core Proteins / Q000032:analysis*
D014758:Viral Core Proteins; C069130:nucleocapsid protein, Hepatitis C virus; D007372:Interferons