title: Quantitative determination of hepatitis C core antigen in therapy monitoring for chronic hepatitis C.
abstract: The correlation and kinetics of hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA and HCV core antigen levels in chronic hepatitis C patients treated with pegylated interferon + ribavirin were evaluated in order to envision a combined use of the two assays in therapy monitoring. HCV core antigen levels by a chemiluminescent immunoassay (Abbott ARCHITECT) and HCV-RNA levels by branched DNA (bDNA) or real-time PCR have been evaluated on plasma specimens from 32 patients treated for chronic hepatitis C. An early virological response (undetectable levels of HCV-RNA 4 weeks after start of treatment) was found in 10/23 subjects (43.5%) followed up for 5 months or more. The response was linked to the HCV genotype (20% in genotype 1B vs. 61.5% in other genotypes; p < 0.05). HCV RNA and HCV antigen showed a good correlation (r = 0.814); HCV antigen was still detectable in 3 samples with undetectable (<615 IU/ml) RNA by bDNA, while no differences in clinical sensitivity were recorded in comparison with real-time PCR. These findings suggest that HCV-RNA and HCV antigen may be used at different time points in order to tailor therapy monitoring to individual needs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Pisa University Cisanello Hospital, Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanna A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Moscato
authors.forename: Gianluigi
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Giannelli
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Grandi
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pieri
authors.forename: Ombretta
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Marsi
authors.forename: Isabella
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Guarducci
authors.forename: Irene
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Batini
authors.forename: Emanuele
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Altomare
authors.forename: Salvatore
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Antonaci
authors.forename: Alfonso
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Capria
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pellegrini
authors.forename: Rodolfo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sacco
mesh_terms: D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D019411:Clinical Laboratory Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D016903:Drug Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007372:Interferons / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood; D012254:Ribavirin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014758:Viral Core Proteins / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D000956:Antigens, Viral; D000998:Antiviral Agents; D012367:RNA, Viral; D014758:Viral Core Proteins; C069130:nucleocapsid protein, Hepatitis C virus; D012254:Ribavirin; D007372:Interferons