Abstract
BackgroundThe results of previous studies elsewhere have indicated that GB virus C (GBV-C) infection is frequent in patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) due to similar transmission routes of both viruses. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence, incidence density and genotypic characteristics of GBV-C in this population.Methodology/Principal FindingsThe study population included 233 patients from a cohort primarily comprised of homosexual men recently infected with HIV-1 in São Paulo, Brazil. The presence of GBV-C RNA was determined in plasma samples by reverse transcriptase-nested polymerase chain reaction and quantified by real-time PCR. GBV-C genotypes were determined by direct sequencing. HIV viral load, CD4+ T lymphocyte and CD8+ T lymphocyte count were also tested in all patients. The overall prevalence of GBV-C infection was 0.23 (95% CI: 0.18 to 0.29) in the study group. There was no significant difference between patients with and without GBV-C infection and Glycoprotein E2 antibody presence regarding age, sex, HIV-1 viral load, CD4+ and CD8+T cell counts and treatment with antiretroviral drugs. An inverse correlation was observed between GBV-C and HIV-1 loads at enrollment and after one year. Also, a positive but not significant correlation was observed between GBV-C load and CD4+ T lymphocyte. Phylogenetic analysis of the GBV-C isolates revealed the presence of genotype 1 and genotype 2, these sub classified into subtype 2a and 2b.Conclusion/SignificanceGBV-C infection is common in recently HIV -1 infected patients in Sao Paulo, Brazil and the predominant genotype is 2b. This study provides the first report of the GBV-C prevalence at the time of diagnosis of HIV-1 and the incidence density of GBV-C infection in one year.
Highlights
The GB virus type C (GBV-C, known as hepatitis G virus) is an enveloped, positive-sense, single- stranded RNA virus belonging to the family Flaviviridae, and is closely related to the hepatitis C virus (HCV)
One of the major characteristics of the targeted patient population is the majority of men who have sex with men (MSM); other demographic characteristics of the cohort are included In the Table 1
Prevalence and Incidence Density of GB Virus C infection At enrollment, 54 cases of active GB virus C (GBV-C) infection and 31 cases of past GBV-C infection were identified, resulting in a prevalence of 0.23 [95% confidence interval, 0.18 to 0.29], and of 0.24 respectively
Summary
The GB virus type C (GBV-C, known as hepatitis G virus) is an enveloped, positive-sense, single- stranded RNA virus belonging to the family Flaviviridae, and is closely related to the hepatitis C virus (HCV). GBV-C appears to be lymphotropic and has been shown to replicate in vitro in peripheral blood mononuclear cells CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes and B lymphocytes [2,3]. It was first identified in 1995 in serum from individuals with idiopathic hepatitis [4,5,6,7]. The results of previous studies elsewhere have indicated that GB virus C (GBV-C) infection is frequent in patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) due to similar transmission routes of both viruses. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence, incidence density and genotypic characteristics of GBV-C in this population
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