SEARCH · PubMed Health

Results for “HCV”

Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed2005

CD8+ cell responses to hepatitis C virus (HCV) in the liver of persons with HCV-HIV coinfection versus HCV monoinfection.

OBJECTIVE: Cellular immune responses are difficult to detect in the peripheral blood of persons with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. We sought to determine whether T cell responses were present in the liver of patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and HCV coinfection. METHODS: T cells were expanded from liver-biopsy samples from 10 patients coinfected with HIV and HCV (median CD4(+) cell count, 456 cells/mm(3)) and 8 patients infected with HCV alone. CD8(+) cell responses were detected by use of a modified enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISpot) assay with recombinant vaccinia virus, and CD4(+) cell responses were detected by use of ELISpot with recombinant HCV proteins core, nonstructural (NS) 3, and NS5. RESULTS: Intrahepatic CD8(+) cell responses to HCV were detected in 7 of 10 patients coinfected with HCV and HIV (median frequency, 638 spot-forming cells [sfc]/1 x 10(6) cells) and were similar to those observed in patients singly infected with HCV (7/8; median, 647 sfc/1 x 10(6) cells). Intrahepatic HCV-specific CD4(+) cell responses were also comparable in both groups and correlated with the intrahepatic CD8(+) cell responses (r=0.59; P=.03). CONCLUSION: HCV-specific CD8(+) cell responses are present in the liver of persons with chronic HCV infection even when they are coinfected with HIV; these correlate with intrahepatic HCV-specific CD4(+) cell responses.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

High serum hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA load predicts the presence of HCV RNA in saliva from individuals with chronic and acute HCV infection.

The detection of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in saliva was studied. Twenty-three subjects with chronic HCV infection and 1 subject with acute HCV infection were enrolled in a 21-day study. Roche COBAS Amplicor and Bayer VERSANT HCV RNA qualitative assays were used. For the 23 subjects with chronic HCV infection, 72% of 474 saliva samples were positive (or were imputed to be positive) for HCV RNA. Serum HCV RNA load predicted the detection of HCV RNA in saliva (odds ratio of 378.7 [95% confidence interval, 18.9-9996.6] for each additional log10 value). This association was also observed in 1 subject with acute HCV infection. Thus, our data demonstrate that salivary HCV RNA detection was associated with serum HCV RNA load in individuals who were chronically or acutely infected with HCV.

Acute Disease↗

PubMed1993

High prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA in dialysis patients: failure of commercially available antibody tests to identify a significant number of patients with HCV infection. Copenhagen Dialysis HCV Study Group.

Results of serologic tests were correlated with hepatitis C virus (HCV) viremia, determined by a cDNA polymerase chain reaction assay to detect HCV RNA, in 340 Danish dialysis patients; of these, 28 (8.2%) were positive for antibodies to HCV (anti-HCV) with second-generation ELI-SAs. HCV RNA was found in sera from 27 of these 28 anti-HCV-positive patients. However, 8 dialysis patients had detectable levels of HCV RNA but were anti-HCV-negative with second-generation ELISAs. Among the 35 HCV-infected dialysis patients 16 were positive, 7 indeterminate, and 12 negative with the second-generation RIBA. More than 60% of patients with evidence of ongoing liver disease had HCV infection. Thus, current commercially available antibody tests did not accurately reflect the HCV status in dialysis patients. A relatively high prevalence (> 10%) of HCV RNA, closely associated with liver disease, was found among dialysis patients in a low-prevalence area of the world.

Base Sequence↗

PubMed1996

Detection of hepatitis C virus (HCV) proteins by immunofluorescence and HCV RNA genomic sequences by non-isotopic in situ hybridization in bone marrow and peripheral blood mononuclear cells of chronically HCV-infected patients.

Immunofluorescence (IF) to detect HCV antigens and non-isotopic in situ hybridization (NISH) to detect HCV RNA genome were carried out on bone marrow (BM) and peripheral blood (PB) mononuclear cells (MC) of 11 chronically HCV-infected patients. In four patients (36.4%) HCV antigens were detected in monocytes/macrophages as well as in B lymphocytes in both BMMC and PBMC. Positive T lymphocytes in BMMC were found in three of them, but only one patient showed positive T cells in PBMC. NISH invariably demonstrated minus and plus HCV RNA genomic strands either in monocytes/macrophages or B and T lymphocytes in BMMC and PBMC in the four HCV antigen-positive patients and in two further patients not expressing viral proteins in blood MC. IF signals appeared diffusely distributed within the cytoplasm, or as brilliant granules in distinct submembrane areas or else in cytoplasm membrane. Nuclei never stained. Similarly, NISH displayed HCV RNA accumulation restricted to MC cytoplasm only, nuclei being persistently negative. NISH, however, was unable to detect cell membrane signal. Infection of blood MC is a common event in naturally acquired HCV infection, since none of these patients was conditioned by immunomodulating or immunosuppressive therapies. No difference was found in terms of age, length of disease, anti-HCV immune response, type and severity of chronic liver damage between patients with HCV-infected MC and patients without cell infection. These results demonstrate that HCV can infect BMMC and PBMC that represent important extrahepatic sites of virus replication, and may help to explain the immunological abnormalities observed in chronic HCV carriers.

Base Sequence↗

PubMed2005

[Current approaches for developing new anti-HCV agents and analyses of HCV replication using anti-HCV agents].

Currently, patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) are mainly treated with interferon alone or in combination with ribavirin. However, because the virus is not eliminated from approximately one half of the patients by this treatment, alternative approaches to the treatment of HCV infection are needed. Recently, an HCV subgenomic replicon system has been established in which an HCV subgenomic replicon autonomously replicated in cultured cells. It enables us to screen for anti-HCV agents in cell culture system. Taking advantage of this system, we examined the effects of various types of compounds on the replication of HCV. Consequently, we found that a well-known immunosuppressant, cyclosporin A (CsA), had a strong suppressive activity on HCV replication, at least in cell culture system. This anti-HCV activity did not require the immunosuppressive feature of CsA. Through the investigation into the mechanism of anti-HCV effect of CsA, it was suggested that cyclophilin B, one of the cellular target molecules of CsA, played a significant role in HCV replication. Thus, searching for anti-HCV agents may lead to the elucidation of one of the mechanisms of HCV replication.

Antiviral Agents↗

PubMed2002

Evaluation of the clinical usefulness of COBAS AMPLICOR HCV MONITOR assay (ver2.0): Comparison with AMPLICOR HCV MONITOR assay (ver1.0) and HCV core protein level.

The quantitation of serum levels of hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA in chronic hepatitis C has been regarded as one of the most important indicators for the outcome of interferon (IFN) therapy. The AMPLICOR HCV MONITOR version 1.0 (AMPLICOR v1.0) assay is widely used for the evaluation of the HCV level. A new generation assay called the COBAS AMPLICOR HCV MONITOR version 2.0 (COBAS v2.0) assay, which is semiautomated and modified to amplify all genotypes equally, has been developed. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical relevance of the COBAS v2.0 assay in comparison with the AMPLICOR v1.0 assay and HCV core protein assay in patients with chronic hepatitis C before IFN therapy. HCV RNA was detectable in 230 cases (97.5%) and undetectable in 6 cases (2.5%) by the COBAS v2.0 assay. The RNA levels measured by the AMPLICOR v1.0 assay correlated significantly with those measured by the COBAS v2.0 assay, and the sensitivity of the new version 2.0 assay was better than that of version 1.0, especially in serotype 2. In relation to the outcome of IFN therapy, HCV RNA levels from virologically sustained responders by the AMPLICOR v1.0 assay were 82.3 +/- 22.9 kcopies/ml in serotype 1 and 36.9 +/- 13.4 kcopies/ml in serotype 2, and those from virologically nonsustained responders were 525.2 +/- 48.6 kcopies/ml in serotype 1 and 76.7 +/- 19.5 kcopies/ml in serotype 2. The rates of sustained response to <100 kcopies/ml were 34/63 (54.0%) in serotype 1 and 24/48 (50.0%) in serotype 2. A statistically significant virological response was seen in serotype 1 (P < 0.0001), but not in serotype 2. In contrast, the levels in virologically sustained responders by the COBAS v2.0 assay were 88.2 +/- 20.5 KIU/ml in serotype 1 and 136.8 +/- 40.1 KIU/ml in serotype 2, and those in virologically nonsustained responders were 608.8 +/- 48.4 KIU/ml in serotype 1 and 328.3 +/- 62.8 KIU/ml in serotype 2. The rates of sustained response to <100 KIU/ml were 33/60 (55.0%) in serotype 1 and 21/35 (60.0%) in serotype 2. Statistical significance in virological response was seen in both serotype 1 (P < 0.0001) and serotype 2 (P < 0.05). Although the sensitivity of the HCV core protein assay was lower than that with the COBAS v2.0 assay, the HCV core protein levels also correlated well with the results of the COBAS v2.0 assay. The HCV core protein levels of virologically sustained responders were 37.6 +/- 12.0 pg/ml in serotype 1, 81.3 +/- 37.0 pg/ml in serotype 2, and those of virologically nonsustained responders were 289.9 +/- 23.5 pg/ml in serotype 1, 191.4 +/- 32.1 pg/ml in serotype 2. This assay could predict the outcome of IFN therapy in both serotype 1 (P < 0.0001) and serotype 2 (P < 0.05). Thus, both the COBAS v2.0 assay and the HCV core protein assay showed that the viral load was an indicator of virologically sustained response in serotype 2 and in serotype 1.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Risk factors for HCV infection among blood donors confirmed to be positive for the presence of HCV RNA and not reactive for the presence of anti-HCV.

BACKGROUND: In 1999, NAT of blood donations was implemented to detect "window-period" infections. Blood donors who have confirmed NAT results positive for the presence of HCV in the absence of anti-HCV are likely to have been recently infected. Of over 26.8 million donations tested between March 3, 1999, and March 31, 2003, 810 were HCV-reactive by NAT. A subset of these donors was assessed for recent exposure risk. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: All anti-HCV- blood donors with reactive, unconfirmed HCV NAT results were invited to participate in a study that included an extensive demographic and risk questionnaire. Confirmed HCV+ cases were compared to HCV- (falsely positive) controls for histories of potential risk factors during the 6 months before donation. RESULTS: Recent injection drug use (IDU) was independently associated with HCV infection (29.2% vs. 0% of cases vs. controls, p < 0.001). In addition, likely sources were identified for three other cases (4.6%), including occupational exposure, sexual contact with an HCV-infected partner (who was an IDU), and perinatal exposure, none of which was known to the donors at the time of donation. Incarceration was independently associated with HCV infection among the group not reporting IDU and after removal of the three donors with likely sources of risk (14.6% vs. 1.3% of cases vs. controls, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: A likely risk, primarily IDU, was found for 43 percent of HCV+ donors whose infections were identified solely by NAT. Because the maximum efficiency of the donor history questions may have been reached, NAT will continue to be an important measure to interdict recently infected blood donors.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1994

Hepatitis C virus (HCV)-specific in vitro antibody secretion by peripheral blood lymphocytes: correlation with progression of disease and HCV RNA in HCV antibody-positive patients.

Hepatitis C virus-specific in vitro antibody production (HCV IVAP) by peripheral blood lymphocytes in 53 HCV antibody-positive patients was investigated in comparison with alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels and HCV RNA in serum samples. All 29 HCV IVAP-positive patients were HCV RNA positive; 26 had elevated ALT levels. Among the 24 HCV IVAP-negative patients, 16 were HCV RNA negative, with 12 presenting normal ALT values. These data indicate that HCV IVAP results are highly correlated (P < 0.001) with HCV RNA results and ALT levels. Our study indicates that HCV IVAP can be used as a novel assay in the diagnosis and pathogenesis exploration of HCV infection.

Adult↗

PubMed1998

Evaluation of third generation anti-HCV test kit (SYNPEP HCV-EIA II) using sera of inhabitants from HCV hyperendemic area.

We examined the characteristics and usefulness of a third generation anti-HCV test kit, SYNPEP HCV-EIA II (Kyokuto Pharmaceutical Inc., Tokyo, Japan). The sera of inhabitants from a hepatitis C virus (HCV) hyperendemic area were used. The kit had even or more anti-HCV detection sensitivity and reproducibility than ORTHO HCV III ELISA Test System (Ortho-Clinical Diagnostic K.K., Tokyo, Japan) or HCV PHA 2nd Generation (Dinabot Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan). SYNPEP HCV-EIA II needed less total reaction time than other EIA kits, resulting in a simple procedure. Also, HCV RNA was detected in 90% of subjects who had a 7.5 or greater cut-off index (COI) of SYNPEP HCV-EIA II kit. In conclusion, SYNPEP HCV-EIA II require cheap cost and simple procedure and it could be applied to mass screening to find out HCV RNA positive persons who may need clinical care.

Antibodies, Viral↗

PubMed1998

Performance of hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibody test systems in relation to HCV-RNA detection in the diagnosis of HCV infection.

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis C virus antibody (anti-HCV) test systems for screening and confirmation of blood donations have proved their value. The systems were later adopted for diagnosing patients suspected of hepatitis C. OBJECTIVES: 1) to study the clinical value of the recombinant immunoblot assay (RIBA) in routine diagnostics of patients suspected of HCV infection using HCV-PCR as the most definitive test and 2) to compare the performance of RIBA-2 with RIBA-3. MATERIALS: From May 1991 to August 1996 more than 4300 patients were tested for anti-HCV. All anti-HCV (EIA) positive patients were tested with RIBA-2 or RIBA-3 and HCV-PCR. RESULTS: We found no difference in the overall performance of RIBA-2 compared to RIBA-3. There was a tendency to fewer indeterminate results using RIBA-3 compared to RIBA-2 (5% vs. 9%), but this was not statistically significant. The NS5 band in RIBA-3 did not improve sensitivity or predictive value. Of RIBA-2 and RIBA-3 positive patients, 71% and 66% respectively were found to be HCV-RNA positive. Two samples that were negative using RIBA were HCV-RNA positive. CONCLUSION: RIBA testing in anti-HCV (EIA) positive patients added no clinically useful information to the screening results. We have therefore changed the diagnostic strategy so that all anti-HCV (EIA) positive patients are tested for HCV-RNA.

Hepacivirus↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Antibody testing and RT-PCR results in hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection: HCV-RNA detection in PBMC of plasma viremia-negative HCV-seropositive persons.

To evaluate the concordance between viremia and antibody testing in hepatitis C virus (HCV) diagnosis, 682 serum or plasma samples collected from patients with known or suspected HCV infection were tested. An overall concordance of 77% between serological and PCR results was found, 5% was RNA positive/antibody negative and 18% antibody positive/RNA negative. The relationship between HCV infection, risk group and clinical diagnosis was studied in 116 patients: the presence of anti-HCV antibody without viremia was shown in 72.7% of asymptomatic subjects and 17.6% of chronic hepatitis subjects without interferon treatment. However, the detection of HCV-RNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) in four out of 38 plasma viremia-negative HCV-seropositive subjects (10.5%), showed that HCV-RNA could persist in PBMC and could begin the viral replication again at different times. The detection of HCV-RNA in PBMC in anti-HCV-positive subjects without viremia could reduce false-negative results of HCV-RNA testing by RT-PCR in serum or plasma.

DNA Primers↗

PubMed2002

Transfusion transmission of HCV infection before anti-HCV testing of blood donations in England: results of the national HCV lookback program.

BACKGROUND: An HCV lookback program started in England in 1995. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Data from all English blood centers were collated to describe the outcomes of the HCV lookback program in England and to create a retrospective cohort for study. Numbers of recipients identified, numbers that were tested, and numbers that were found to be HCV infected were summarized. The data set created was used to describe the outcomes of the lookback and the HCV infections detected. RESULTS: A total of 4424 recipients of 9222 blood components made before donation testing for anti-HCV from the donations of 1286 donors found, on subsequent testing, to be anti-HCV positive or indeterminate were identified. Of these, 1351 blood recipients were reported as having been traced for testing. Fifty percent of tested recipients were found to be HCV infected. Factors positively associated with HCV infection in tested recipients were more recent year of transfusion and PCR positivity of the donor at the time of their testing. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of components entering lookback did not result in a tested recipient. However, this lookback has identified a large group of HCV-infected individuals. Follow-up of this group for disease progression will inform the natural history of HCV infection.

Adult↗

PubMed1999

Longitudinal variation in hepatitis C virus (HCV) viraemia and early course of HCV infection after liver transplantation for HCV cirrhosis: the role of different immunosuppressive regimens.

BACKGROUND: The role of the type of immunosuppression in the natural history of post-transplant hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is unclear. AIMS: To evaluate the fluctuation of HCV viraemia and the early course of infection, and their relation to the type of immunosuppression in HCV transplant patients. METHODS: In 47 HCV transplant patients, serum HCV RNA levels were determined pretransplant and at one and two weeks, and three and 12 months after transplant. Initial immunosuppression was triple (cyclosporin, azathioprine, prednisolone) in 31, double (cyclosporin, prednisolone) in five, and single (cyclosporin or tacrolimus) in 11 patients. Prednisolone was withdrawn at a median of six months. RESULTS: At three months, HCV RNA levels were higher in patients with single than with triple or double initial therapy. At 12 months, HCV RNA levels correlated only with duration of prednisolone treatment and were relatively higher in patients with triple compared with single initial immunosuppression. A higher necroinflammatory activity at 12 months post-transplant was found in patients with post-transplant acute hepatitis compared with those without. Extent of fibrosis at 12 months was associated with the 12 month HCV RNA level and occurrence of post-transplant acute hepatitis. CONCLUSIONS: HCV RNA levels at three months after transplant are higher in patients treated with single initial immunosuppressive therapy, but at 12 months are higher in patients with longer duration of steroid treatment. HCV viraemia at 12 months seems to be particularly important, as its levels are strongly correlated with the severity of fibrosis.

Acute Disease↗

PubMed2000

Peripheral blood mononuclear cells of HIV- and HCV-antibody-positive individuals contain HCV RNA but No HCV DNA despite evidence for reverse transcription of HIV RNA into DNA.

Following reports of the finding of cDNA of RNA viruses in cells containing an endogenous retrovirus-encoded reverse transcriptase, we looked for the presence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) DNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of injecting drug users seropositive for both HCV and human immunodefiency virus (HIV). We tested serial PBMC samples from four HCV infected individuals; one was seronegative for HIV, two seroconverted for HIV during follow-up, and one was seropositive for HIV throughout the study period. HCV RNA was found in PBMC and plasma samples at all time points tested. Similarly, HIV RNA was found in all PBMC and plasma samples following HIV seroconversion. In contrast, no HCV DNA was detected in any PBMC sample, whereas HIV DNA was found in all tested PBMC samples following HIV seroconversion, indicative of active HIV reverse transcriptase in these PBMC samples. These results do not support the hypothesis that HCV viraemia is related to retrotranscription of the HCV RNA genome into DNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells coinfected with HIV. The potential of HIV RT to retrotranscribe HCV RNA into DNA awaits studies of liver cells coinfected with HCV and HIV.

Blotting, Southern↗

PubMed1997

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes in Spanish patients with HCV infection: relationship between HCV genotype 1b, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The influence of the infecting virus genotype on the progression of the underlying liver disease in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection remains controversial. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of HCV genotypes in Spanish patients with chronic HCV infection and to elucidate the relationship between the infecting genotype and the severity of the disease. METHODS: A cross-sectional, retrospective analysis of frequency distribution of HCV genotypes was carried out in 414 Spanish patients with chronic HCV infection, including 243 patients with asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic chronic hepatitis, 112 patients with cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma and 59 patients with decompensated cirrhosis. HCV genotype was determined by restriction fragment length polymorphisms of the 5' non-coding region. RESULTS: Infection with HCV genotype 1b was found in 72% of patients with chronic hepatitis and in more than 90% of patients with cirrhosis, with or without hepatocellular carcinoma. Older age, infection with genotype 1b and absence of overt parenteral exposure as a possible source of infection were associated with cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma by univariate analysis and this association was confirmed by regression analysis. CONCLUSIONS: HCV genotype 1b is associated with advanced liver disease in our geographical area. However, this may be related to a cohort-effect caused by over-representation of genotype 1b in older patients with more advanced disease, because, in our country, this HCV genotype appeared earlier in time and is therefore associated with more prolonged periods of infection.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Increased hepatitis C virus (HCV)-specific CD4+CD25+ regulatory T lymphocytes and reduced HCV-specific CD4+ T cell response in HCV-infected patients with normal versus abnormal alanine aminotransferase levels.

CD4+CD25+ T regulatory cells may play a role in the different clinical presentations of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection by suppressing CD4+ T cell responses. Peripheral CD4+CD25+ T cells from chronic HCV carriers with normal and abnormal alanine aminotransferase (ALT) were analysed for specificity and effect on HCV-specific CD4+ T cell reactivity by flow cytometry for intracellular cytokine production and proliferation assay. HCV-specific CD4+CD25(+high) T cells consistently produced transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta but only limited amounts of interleukin (IL)-10 and no IL-2 and interferon (IFN)-gamma. The HCV-specific TGF-beta response by CD4+CD25(+high) T cells was significantly greater in patients with normal ALT compared to patients with elevated ALT. In addition, a significant inverse correlation was found between the HCV-specific TGF-beta response by CD4+CD25(+high) T cells and liver inflammation. In peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), both HCV antigen-induced IFN-gamma production and proliferation of CD4+ T cells were greater in patients with elevated ALT compared with patients with normal ALT. Depletion of CD4+CD25+ cells from PBMC resulted in an increase of both IFN-gamma production and proliferation of HCV-specific CD4+ T cells that was significantly greater in patients with normal ALT levels compared with patients with elevated ALT. In addition, CD4+CD25+ T cells from patients with normal ALT levels proved to be significantly more potent to suppress CD4+ T cell reactivity with respect to those from patients with elevated ALT. In conclusion, these data support the hypothesis that CD4+CD25+ cells may play a role in controlling chronic inflammatory response and hepatic damage in chronic HCV carriers.

Alanine Transaminase↗

PubMed1997

[Comparison of anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) IgM and HCV-RNA detection in serum samples of patients with HCV infection].

Anti-HCV IgG is the routine assay for the diagnosis hepatitis C. But the method is ineffective in early detection of hepatitis C. We have detected anti-HCV IgM in hospital hepatitis C patients by Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) and compared the results with those of HCV-RNA and total antibody. Our studies indicate that anti-HCV IgM is detected in all hepatitis C marker positive sera. But the amount of anti-HCV IgM in HCV-RNA positive sera is significantly higher than that of in the corresponding negative sera. This subjects that anti-HCV IgM and HCV-RNA are somewhat correlated and they have different clinical interests. Anti-HCV IgM can be expected and hepatitis activities and its actual clinical interests are to be further studied.

Antibodies, Anti-Idiotypic↗

PubMed2005

[HCV genotyping by combination of the Cobas Amplicor HCV 2.0 test and the reverse hybridization Versant HCV Genotype Assay].

Genotyping of hepatitis C virus (HCV) is of relevance to scheduling the treatment of patients with chronic hepatitis C (VHC), making their prognosis and monitoring the treatment efficacy. A set of 62 sera testing HCV RNA positive in Cobas Amplicor HCV 2.0 test (CA) were genotyped using Versant HCV Genotype Assay (LiPA) Bayer, i.e. the reverse hybridization method, with the CA amplified product being directly used in the assay. Fifty-six out of 57 samples reactive in reverse hybridization (92%) were genotyped. One sample showed a profile differing from any genotype, five samples were not reactive and one sample was not tested within this study design. Two out of five non-reactive sera and one non-tested serum could be genotyped by nested PCR based reverse hybridization. It can be concluded that the CA product resulting from one-step HCV RNA amplification is suitable for use in genotyping by reverse hybridization. The CA product based genotyping procedure is easier to perform, less time-consuming and less costly. The nested PCR based procedure could be used for typing of sera with lower HCV concentrations nontypeable with the combination of CA and Versant HCV Genotype Assay. Forty-eight selected samples were typed not only by reverse hybridization but also by a serological kit Murex HCV Serotyping 1-6 Assay (Abbot Murex). Thirty-seven (77%) of these sera, including all of three sera negative in reverse hybridization, appeared typeable by this kit. Although less sensitive, serotyping may be of relevance to typing of sera with low HCV levels or not containing detectable viral NA which are nontypeable by reverse hybridization. Thirty-three sera appeared genotypeable by both of the methods tested with the results being in good agreement. In two cases only the serotyping method revealed one more type of virus (mixed genotype) compared to the reverse hybridization.

Genotype↗