title: Hepatitis G virus coinfection influences the liver histology of patients with chronic hepatitis C.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The present investigation compared the histological features of the liver of chronic hepatitis C patients who are or are not coinfected with hepatitis G virus (HGV) to determine the histological and clinical characteristics of HGV infection.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study included 194 patients with chronic hepatitis C who visited our institution between 1993 and 1995. Detection of serum HGV RNA was performed by nested reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Scores were assigned to indicate the severity of each of the following features on the liver biopsy of a patient: inflammatory cell infiltration in the periportal, parenchymal, and portal area; fibrous stage; lymphoid aggregates in the portal area; portal sclerotic change; perivenular fibrosis; pericellular fibrosis; bile duct damage; bridging necrosis; and irregular regeneration of hepatocytes (IR).
  
  
  RESULTS
  HGV RNA was detected in the sera of 18 (9.3%) of the 194 patients. The histological features of the HGV RNA-positive patients show significantly more severe bile duct damage, perivenular fibrosis, pericellular fibrosis and IR than the liver of the HGV RNA-negative patients. The biochemical results in the two groups did not significantly differ.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data suggest that chronic HGV coinfection worsens the histological features of liver disease.
authors.affiliation: Third Department of Internal Medicine, Nihon University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan. moriyama@med.nihon-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Moriyama
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Matsumura
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shimizu
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shioda
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kaneko
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Saito
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Miyazawa
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sugitani
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Komiyama
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Arakawa
mesh_terms: D001652:Bile Ducts / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D001706:Biopsy; D005260:Female; D018067:Flaviviridae / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology*; D006525:Hepatitis, Viral, Human / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology*; D006651:Histocytochemistry; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008099:Liver / Q000473:pathology* / Q000821:virology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral