title: In situ hybridization of hepatitis C virus RNA in liver cells of an experimentally infected rhesus macaque.
abstract: The liver tissue of a rhesus macaque inoculated with hepatitis C virus (HCV) has been analyzed for the presence of HCV RNA using the technique of in situ hybridization, both at light and electron microscopy levels. The animal was inoculated by the intrasplenic route using a HCV infected autogenic hepatocyte transplant. The serum sample used to infect the hepatocyte cells was characterized by polymerase chain reaction technique and shown to be positive for HCV RNA, genotype 3 with 10(7) RNA copies/ml. In situ hybridization was performed using a complementary negative strand probe made with the specific primer. We were able to detect and localize viral RNA in altered membranes of the rough endoplasmic reticulum of infected liver cells, showing evidence of virus replication in vivo.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Virologia, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz-Fiocruz, Av. Brasil 4365, 21040-900 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. selmam@ioc.fiocruz.br
authors.forename: Selma
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Majerowicz
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Grief
authors.forename: Debora
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ferguson
authors.forename: Renata C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Airano
authors.forename: Marcia L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Baptista
authors.forename: Marcelo A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Pinto
authors.forename: Ortrud Monika
authors.initials: OM
authors.lastname: Barth
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004721:Endoplasmic Reticulum / Q000821:virology; D022781:Hepatocytes / Q000821:virology*; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D008099:Liver / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*; D008253:Macaca mulatta / Q000821:virology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000302:isolation & purification*
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral