As a prelude to the development of nucleic acid probes specific for non-A, non-B hepatitis virus(es) (NANBV), plasmas with alanine aminotransferase levels greater than or equal to 110 IU were assayed for DNA by a radioimmunoassay.
Of the 15 well-defined cases of PT-NANBH that showed multiple ALT peaks and hepatitis C virus seroconversions, 11 (73.3%) were shown to be transfused with at least one unit of blood positive for the antibody.
The influence of viremia on hepatic injury in patients infected with hepatitis C virus was examined by analysis of the relationship between alanine aminotransferase activity and the amount of hepatitis C virus RNA in sequential serum samples from I untreated patient with acute hepatitis C and 3 untreated patients with chronic hepatitis C. Semiquantitative analysis by the competitive-reverse-transcription/polymerase-chain-reaction method indicated that the quantity of hepatitis C virus RNA in the serum affected the disease activities of acute and chronic hepatitis C through their natural clinical courses in all these patients.
During treatment, the levels of alanine aminotransferase showed a significant decrease in all patients and the amount of HCV RNA fell from 1 fg/ml, 1 pg/ml, and greater than 10 pg/ml to 0.1 fg/ml, 100 fg/ml, and 1 pg/ml, respectively.
One of 87 healthy individuals with normal alanine aminotransferase activity was positive for antibody against only the viral core, but was negative for HCV RNA.
Serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels and hepatitis C viral ribonucleic acid (RNA) levels in serum were followed prior to, during, and 12 weeks posttreatment.
The percentage of HCV-infected patients with abnormal liver function (alanine aminotransferase level, greater than 100 IU/liter) was higher than that of the uninfected patients.
Detection of three types of hepatitis C virus in blood donors: investigation of type-specific differences in serologic reactivity and rate of alanine aminotransferase abnormalities.
The HCV RNA was more frequently found in donors with an ALT level greater than 45 IU/L than in those with an ALT level less than 45 IU/L (15 of 26 vs nine of 34, respectively); in donors who were recombinant immunoblot assay reactive or indeterminate than in those who were recombinant immunoblot assay negative (17 of 21 or seven of 14 vs two of 25, respectively); and in donors who were EIA3 positive (25 of 33 vs one of 27) or r-HCV positive (25 of 35 vs one of 25).
HCV-RNA was detected in the concentrates administered to the six patients whose alanine aminotransferase (ALT) abnormalities met the diagnostic criteria for NANBH and who later seroconverted for HCV, but it was not detected in the concentrates administered to the three patients whose ALT abnormalities failed to satisfy the diagnostic criteria and who did not seroconvert.
These results indicate that anti-HCV-positive blood donors with normal ALT levels constitute a heterogeneous group, as HCV viremia is detectable in only a small proportion of cases.
The vertical transmission rate of HCV was low if judged by the presence of anti-HCV or abnormal ALT values, but the rate was high (33%) if judged by the presence of HCV-RNA.
In contrast, serotype 2 was more prevalent in subjects with biochemically silent HCV infection (alanine aminotransferase, < 45 U/liter), in agreement with previous findings at the molecular level.