title: Removal of hepatitis C virus by G-1 beads in sera from patients with chronic hepatitis C.
abstract: Recently, a new method of extracorporeal granulocyte depletion apheresis has been developed to treat inflammatory systemic diseases using an Adacolumn (Japan Immunoresearch Laboratories, Takasaki, Japan) that is filled with acetate cellulose beads (G-1 beads) to adsorb the granulocytes. We examined whether hepatitis C virus (HCV) is adsorbed after incubation of the Adacolumn with the sera from patients with HCV-RNA-positive chronic hepatitis C.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 10 patients with chronic hepatitis C, whose levels of HCV RNA were greater than 800 kIU/ml were examined. The serum was incubated with 500 G-1 beads in a syringe at 37 degrees C for 1 h. After removal of the serum, the beads were washed with RNase-free water. The G-1 beads were removed from the syringe after centrifugation. RNA was extracted from 200 microl of the wash waste and from 10, 50, 100 and 200 beads, respectively, using TRIZol regent. Detection of HCV RNA was performed using the nested PCR method.
  
  
  RESULTS
  HCV RNA was detected from as few as 10 G-1 beads. HCV RNA was not detected from waste fluid collected after the last wash from any of the patients. Further, HCV RNA was detected in the initial waste fluid after the 37 degrees C incubation with serum in all of the patients. Since HCV RNA was detected on the G-1 beads, but not from the last washing solution in the current examination, these results suggest that the G-1 beads adsorbed HCV RNA.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our in vitro study confirmed that G-1 beads adsorbed HCV; therefore, apheresis using a column filled with G-1 beads may reduce the HCV RNA load in the blood of patients with chronic hepatitis C.
authors.affiliation: Third Department of Internal Medicine, Nihon University School of Medicine, Itabashiku, Tokyo, Japan. moriyama@med.nihon-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Mitsuhiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Moriyama
authors.forename: Miki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kaneko
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Matsumura
authors.forename: Akiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fukushima
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Aoki
authors.forename: Naohide
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Kazumichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kuroda
authors.forename: Kazufumi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shimizu
authors.forename: Katsuya
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hiraishi
authors.forename: Yasuyuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Arakawa
mesh_terms: D000327:Adsorption; D001781:Blood Component Removal; D002482:Cellulose / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D005260:Female; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008863:Microspheres; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood / Q000302:isolation & purification; D044967:Serum / Q000821:virology*
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral; C005062:acetylcellulose; D002482:Cellulose