Evaluation of cross-reactive antibody response to HVR1 in chronic hepatitis C

摘要

AIM:To evaluate the presence and cross-reactive anti-bodies against hypervariable region 1(HVR1) in hepatitis C virus(HCV) infected patients and its relationship with the progression of the disease.METHODS:Sixteen representative HVR1 proteins selected from a unique set of 1600 natural sequences were used to semiquantitate the cross-reactivity of HVR1 antibodies in the sera of HCV patients.Fifty-five chronic HCV patients including 23 with asymptomatic mild hepatitis,18 with chronic hepatitis and 16 with liver cirrhosis patients were studied.RESULTS:The degree of the cross-reactivity of anti-HVR1 antibodies in 23 patients with mild asymptomatic hepatitis was 3.09 ± 2.68,which was signif icantly lower than in those with chronic hepatitis(5.44 ± 3.93,P < 0.05) and liver cirrhosis(7.44 ± 3.90,P < 0.01).No correlation was observed between the broadness of the cross-reactivity anti-HVR1 antibodies and patient's age,infection time,serum alanine aminotransferase activity,or serum HCV-RNA concentration.It was the breath of cross-reactivity rather than the presence of anti-HVR1 antibody in HCV sera that was associated with the progression of liver disease.CONCLUSION:The broadly cross-reactive HVR1 antibodies generated in natural HCV patients can not neutralize the virus,which results in persistent infection in patients with chronic hepatitis.