Long-term liver function of recipients with hepatitis G virus infection after bone marrow transplantation.
To clarify the role of hepatitis G virus (HGV) infection in liver dysfunction following allogeneic BMT, we examined cryopreserved serum samples from 33 patients who had a history of blood transfusions before BMT and whose serum samples had been stored periodically, before BMT, on day 100, and thereafter for the presence of HGV-RNA and hepatitis C virus (HCV)-RNA by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Nineteen patients (58%) out of 33 were positive for HGV-RNA before BMT and 10 for HCV-RNA. All patients positive for HCV-RNA were also positive for HGV-RNA. Patients were divided into three groups according to their viral status before BMT; namely, the G+C+ group (n = 10), the G+C- group (n = 9) and the G-C- group (n = 14). Two patients in the G-C- group became positive for HGV-RNA after BMT. One patient in the G+C- group suffered an acute exacerbation of hepatitis, with GPT levels reaching over 1000 IU/l, 2 and 3 years after BMT, showing quite a different clinical course from those in the G+C- group. Excluding these three patients, GPT levels of the patients in the G+C+ group were significantly higher after day 100 and remained higher than those of patients in the G+C- and G-C- groups for at least 4 years. There were no significant differences in post-transplant GPT levels between the G+C- group and the G-C- group at any time point. Of the seven patients followed-up for 5 to 10 years, three patients became HGV-RNA-negative, while four remained positive. In the absence of HCV co-infection, the behavior of GPT values post transplant in patients with HGV infection did not differ from those without HGV infection. With respect to the patient who was G+C- and showed high values of GPT 2 and 3 years post transplant, we suspect that his liver dysfunction might have been caused by some unknown virus or etiology.
Maruta
A
A
Department of Hematology/Chemotherapy, Kanagawa Cancer Center, Yokohama, Japan.
Tanabe
J
J
Hashimoto
C
C
Kato
K
K
Kanamori
H
H
Fukawa
H
H
Miyashita
H
H
Fujisawa
S
S
Fujita
H
H
Matsuzaki
M
M
Motomura
S
S
Kodama
F
F
Ookawa
S
S
Mohri
H
H
Ishigatsubo
Y
Y
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001800:Blood Specimen Collection; D001803:Blood Transfusion; D016026:Bone Marrow Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000502:physiology*; D015925:Cryopreservation; D005260:Female; D018067:Flaviviridae / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006525:Hepatitis, Viral, Human / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000635:transmission*; D006801:Humans; D008111:Liver Function Tests; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors
D012367:RNA, Viral