TABLE 1.
Clinical characteristics and detection of HCV RNA in sera and lymphoid cells from patients with serological resolution of hepatitis Ca
| Recovery type and patient | Age/ sex | Route of infection | Estimated duration of infection (yr) | Antiviral treatment type and duration (wk) | Follow-up after SVR to treatment (mo)b | HCV RNA
|
HCV geno- typee | Over all positivityf | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Serum: positive strandc | PBMC
|
DC: positive strandc | |||||||||
| Positive strandc | Negative strandd | ||||||||||
| Spontaneous | |||||||||||
| 1 | 44/M | Blood tx | 41 | None | NA | + | + | NA | NA | 1b | + |
| 2 | 42/M | IVDU | 22 | None | NA | + | + | − | NA | NT | + |
| 3 | 32/F | IVDU | 12 | None | NA | + | + | + | NA | 1a | + |
| 4 | 34/F | IVDU | 10 | None | NA | − | + | + | NA | 2a | + |
| 5 | 55/M | Sporadic | ND | None | NA | + | − | NT | NA | NT | + |
| Therapeutically inducedg | |||||||||||
| 6 | 46/M | IVDU | 20 | IFN/R (24) | 60 | + | + | − | + | 1a | + |
| 7 | 43/M | IVDU | 15 | IFN/R (48) | 60 | + | + | + | NA | 2a | + |
| 8 | 37/M | IVDU | 12 | IFN/R (48) | 60 | + | + | + | + | NT | + |
| 9 | 52/F | Blood tx | 9 | IFN/R (48) | 60 | + | + | + | + | 1a | + |
| 10 | 43/F | IVDU | ND | IFN/R (48) | 60 | + | + | + | − | NT | + |
| 11 | 50/M | Sporadic | ND | IFN/R (48) | 36 | + | + | + | + | NT | + |
| 12a | 49/M | IVDU | 20 | IFN/R (48) | 30 | + | − | NT | + | 1b | + |
| 13 | 48/M | IVDU | 25 | IFN (48) | 24 | + | + | − | NA | NT | + |
| 14 | 44/M | IVDU | 25 | IFN/R (48) | 24 | + | NA | NA | NA | NT | + |
| 15 | 34/M | IVDU | 17 | IFN/R (24) | 17 | + | − | NT | NA | 1b | + |
| 12b | 48/M | IVDU | 20 | IFN/R (48) | 15 | − | + | + | NA | 1b | + |
| 16 | 57/M | IVDU | 35 | IFN/R (24) | 12 | + | + | + | + | 1b | + |
| HCV RNA positive/ total tested (%) | 15/17 (88) | 13/16 (81) | 9/12 (75) | 6/7 (86) | 17/17 (100) | ||||||
M, male; F, female; Blood tx, blood transfusion; NA, not available or not applicable; ND, not determined; NT, not tested; IFN, alpha interferon; R, ribavirin; 12a and 12b, samples from the same patient collected at 30 (a) and 15 (b) months after clinical recovery.
HCV RNA measured by the Roche Amplicor HCV v2.0 assay (sensitivity, 1,000 vge/ml).
HCV RNA measured by nested RT-PCR-NAH with UTR and E2 region-specific primers (sensitivity, ≤10 vge/ml).
HCV RNA measured by nested RT-PCR-NAH with UTR-specific primers (sensitivity, ∼102 vge/ml).
HCV genotype determined in recovered serum and/or PBMC samples as described in Materials and Methods.
Overall positivity defined as HCV RNA reactivity in either serum, PBMC, or a combination thereof.
Patients with SVR after a 24- to 48-week therapy with IFN or combination treatment with IFN/R.