Abstract
The existence of extrahepatic replication sites of hepatitis C virus (HCV) remains controversial. Highly strand-specific Tth-based reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction was used to search for the presence of viral RNA negative strand in lymph nodes from 16 patients with AIDS and in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from 14 other human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive patients. Negative-strand HCV RNA was detected in lymph node samples from 10 patients (63%) and in PBMC from 5 (36%). This suggests that, at least under circumstances of impaired immunity associated with HIV infection, HCV is lymphotropic in vivo. However, the clinical implications of these findings need to be further investigated.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.