title: Hepatitis C virus RNA detection in serum and peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with hepatitis C.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the existence and clinical significance of hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA in the serum and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of patients with hepatitis C.
  
  
  METHODS
  HCV RNA was detected by nested polymerase chain reaction (Nested PCR) in serum and in PBMC of 46 patients with acute hepatitis C (AHC) and in 42 patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The positive rate of HCV RNA in PBMC of patients with CHC was markedly higher than that of patients with AHC (P < 0.01). The positive rates of HCV RNA in serum of patients with AHC and CHC and in PBMC of patients with CHC were significantly higher than those of anti-HCV positive patients with normal alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels (P < 0.01). HCV RNA was negative in the serum of two patients, but could be detected in PBMC. In 12 patients, anti HCV was negative while HCV RNA was positive in serum.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  (1) detection of serum HCV RNA by nested PCR might be helpful in the early diagnosis of anti-HCV negative hepatitis C; (2) liver damage in patients with hepatitis C might be correlated with HCV-viremia; (3) infection of PBMC by HCV might play an important role in chronic liver damage in patients with HCV and in the chronicity of its clinical course; and (4) PBMC might be considered as a "reservoir" for HCV.
authors.affiliation: Ping Zhou, Qing Cai, You-Chun Chen, Mu-Sen Zhang, Jian Guan, Xiao-Juan Li, Department of Infectious Diseases, Chinese Air Force General Hospital, Beijing 100036, China.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Ping Zhou, Qing Cai, You-Chun Chen, Mu-Sen Zhang, Jian Guan, Xiao-Juan Li, Department of Infectious Diseases, Chinese Air Force General Hospital, Beijing 100036, China.
authors.forename: Q
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.affiliation: Ping Zhou, Qing Cai, You-Chun Chen, Mu-Sen Zhang, Jian Guan, Xiao-Juan Li, Department of Infectious Diseases, Chinese Air Force General Hospital, Beijing 100036, China.
authors.forename: Y C
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Ping Zhou, Qing Cai, You-Chun Chen, Mu-Sen Zhang, Jian Guan, Xiao-Juan Li, Department of Infectious Diseases, Chinese Air Force General Hospital, Beijing 100036, China.
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Ping Zhou, Qing Cai, You-Chun Chen, Mu-Sen Zhang, Jian Guan, Xiao-Juan Li, Department of Infectious Diseases, Chinese Air Force General Hospital, Beijing 100036, China.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Guan
authors.affiliation: Ping Zhou, Qing Cai, You-Chun Chen, Mu-Sen Zhang, Jian Guan, Xiao-Juan Li, Department of Infectious Diseases, Chinese Air Force General Hospital, Beijing 100036, China.
authors.forename: X J
authors.initials: XJ
authors.lastname: Li
keywords: Hepatitis C; Monocytes; Polymerase chain reaction; RNA; Viral analysis