title: The prevalence of TT virus and GB virus C/hepatitis G virus infection in individuals with raised liver enzymes but without HBV or HCV infection in Taiwan.
abstract: The prevalence of TT virus (TTV) and GB virus-C/hepatitis G virus (GBV-C/HGV) infection and the association with raised liver function tests in 546 Taiwanese with negative HBsAg, anti-HCV and HCV RNA was elucidated. They were tested for serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), GBV-C/HGV RNA, anti-envelope protein 2 antibody (anti-E2) and TTV DNA. Direct sequencing and phylogenetic analyses were performed on 58 isolates for TTV genotype determination. The prevalence of TTV DNA, GBV-C/HGV RNA, anti-E2 and over all GBV-C/HGV exposure was 24.9, 3.4, 8.2 and 11.1%, respectively. Using uni- and multi-variate analyses, male gender and TTV viremia were associated significantly with raised ALT values. Sixty-nine percent of TTV isolates were deduced to be TTV genotype 1 and they had significantly lower mean age than genotype non-1 isolates. In the population, raised ALT may be related to male gender and be attributable to TTV infection but not to GBV-C/HGV among individuals with no evidence of current HBV and HCV infection. TTV genotype 1 is the most prevalent genotype and associated with younger age.
authors.affiliation: Hepatobiliary Division, Department of Internal Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Taiwan.
authors.forename: C Y
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: W Y
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: C H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Tseng
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hou
authors.forename: Z Y
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: M Y
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Hsieh
authors.forename: L Y
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.forename: W L
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Chuang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood*; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000097:blood; D004266:DNA Virus Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology*; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000097:blood; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D018178:Flaviviridae Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology; D029407:GB virus C / Q000302:isolation & purification; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000097:blood; D006521:Hepatitis, Chronic / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology*; D006525:Hepatitis, Viral, Human / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012737:Sex Factors; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology; D022783:Torque teno virus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000956:Antigens, Viral; D004279:DNA, Viral; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens; D012367:RNA, Viral; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins; C107619:glycoprotein E2, GB virus C; D000410:Alanine Transaminase