Analysis of hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA load in platelets of HCV-monoinfected patients receiving antiviral therapy

Introduction. Detection of hepatitis C virus (HCV) has been reported in extrahepatic sites such as peripheral blood mononuclear cells and platelets. Quantitation of HCV-RNA in platelets from patients under antiviral therapy has not been reported.Material and methods. HCV-RNA levels in paired serum and platelet samples of 17 chronically HCV-infected patients were determined at baseline, week 12, end-of-treatment, and 24 weeks after completion of treatment with pegylated interferon plus ribavirin. Quantitation of HCVRNA load was performed using COBAS® TaqMan® HCV Test v 2.0 (lower limit of detection, 25 IU/mL). The cohort predominantly consisted of female (59%) with a mean age of 50.7 ± 10.0 years.Results. Measurements of HCV-RNA in relation to different timepoints of therapy revealed baseline viral load was most frequently detected in higher levels in serum than in platelets (5.6 × 104 lU/mL vs. 379.0 lU/mL; p = 0.0002), a trend also demonstrated in most samples throughout the study. HCV-RNA was also found at low levels (< 25.0-314.0 UI/mL) persistently in platelets of three patients who have lost detectable HCV-RNA in serum during antiviral therapy, resulting in virological relapse.Conclusion. HCV-RNA levels are most frequently detected in higher levels in serum than in platelets, independent of timepoint of antiviral therapy. Further studies with an increase in size of the samples are needed to better evaluate whether or not patients who presented HCV-RNA at low levels in platelets after having lost detectable HCV-RNA in serum during antiviral therapy are at increased risk of relapse of HCV infection during follow-up evaluation

Detection and molecular characterisation of a diagnosis escape variant associated with occult hepatitis B virus in Brazil

Submitted by Sandra Infurna ([email protected]) on 2017-11-30T13:50:22Z No. of bitstreams: 1 ricardo_almeida_etal_IOC_2017.pdf: 557448 bytes, checksum: 6ff6e00cb6c8f7d2aeadab249aaf96e1 (MD5)Approved for entry into archive by Sandra Infurna ([email protected]) on 2017-11-30T14:01:08Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 ricardo_almeida_etal_IOC_2017.pdf: 557448 bytes, checksum: 6ff6e00cb6c8f7d2aeadab249aaf96e1 (MD5)Made available in DSpace on 2017-11-30T14:01:08Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 ricardo_almeida_etal_IOC_2017.pdf: 557448 bytes, checksum: 6ff6e00cb6c8f7d2aeadab249aaf96e1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Hepatites Virais. Rio de Janeiro, RJ. Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Hepatites Virais. Rio de Janeiro, RJ. Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Hepatites Virais. Rio de Janeiro, RJ. Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Hepatites Virais. Rio de Janeiro, RJ. Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Hepatites Virais. Rio de Janeiro, RJ. Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Hepatites Virais. Rio de Janeiro, RJ. Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Hepatites Virais. Rio de Janeiro, RJ. Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Hepatites Virais. Rio de Janeiro, RJ. Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Hepatites Virais. Rio de Janeiro, RJ. Brasil.Many studies have identified mutations in the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) as important factors limiting the ability of commercial serological assays to detect this viral antigen. However, an association between mutations in the HBsAg gene and the occurrence of occult HBV infection (OBI) in patients has not been established

Lack of Association between Hepatitis C Virus core Gene Variation 70/91aa and Insulin Resistance

Submitted by Sandra Infurna ([email protected]) on 2018-06-05T11:30:43Z No. of bitstreams: 1 juliana_miguel_etal_IOC_2017.pdf: 420673 bytes, checksum: 46ed177a8509b4c66351b1360edbbe61 (MD5)Approved for entry into archive by Sandra Infurna ([email protected]) on 2018-06-05T11:41:15Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 juliana_miguel_etal_IOC_2017.pdf: 420673 bytes, checksum: 46ed177a8509b4c66351b1360edbbe61 (MD5)Made available in DSpace on 2018-06-05T11:41:15Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 juliana_miguel_etal_IOC_2017.pdf: 420673 bytes, checksum: 46ed177a8509b4c66351b1360edbbe61 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Hepatites Virais. Rio de Janeiro, RJ. Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Hepatites Virais. Rio de Janeiro, RJ. Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Hepatites Virais. Rio de Janeiro, RJ. Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Hepatites Virais. Rio de Janeiro, RJ. Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Hepatites Virais. Rio de Janeiro, RJ. Brasil.Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro. Hospital Universitário Gaffree Guinle. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. Hospital Universitário Clementino Fraga Filho. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Hepatites Virais. Rio de Janeiro, RJ. Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Hepatites Virais. Rio de Janeiro, RJ. Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Hepatites Virais. Rio de Janeiro, RJ. Brasil.The role of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in insulin resistance (IR) is not fully understood. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of amino acid (aa) substitutions in the core region of HCV according to IR and to identify clinical and laboratory associations. Ninety-two treatment-naive HCV patients were recruited to determine laboratory data and blood cell count. IR was determined using Homeostasis Model Assessment (HOMA) index where IR was defined as HOMA ≥2. HCV RNA load and genotype were determined by Abbott Real time HCV. HCV core region was determined by direct nucleotide sequencing. Bivariate analysis was conducted using HOMA IR ≥2 as a dependent factor. IR prevalence was 43.5% (n = 40), vitamin D sufficiency was found in 76.1% (n = 70) and 72.8% (n = 67) had advanced liver fibrosis. In the bivariate analyses, elevated values of γGT (p = 0.024) and fibrosis staging (p = 0.004) were associated with IR, but IR was not related to core mutations. The presence of glutamine in position 70 was associated with low vitamin D concentration (p = 0.005). In the multivariate analysis, no variable was independently associated with HOMA-IR. In conclusion, lack of association between IR and HCV core mutations in positions 70 and 91 suggests that genetic variability of this region has little impact on IR