Kaiser Thorsten, Tillmann Hans L
Medizinische Klinik & Poliklinik II, Universität Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
AIDS Rev. 2005 Jan-Mar;7(1):3-12.
In a search for new hepatitis viruses, two independent groups identified viruses named GB virus C and Hepatitis G Virus, which turned out to be different strains of the same agent. Despite its initial ascription to hepatitis viruses, this new virus does not cause any hepatitis. Thus, the term GB virus C is preferred. Soon after its discovery, a significantly better clinical course of HIV infection was demonstrated for patients coinfected with the GB virus C in 1998. These results were confirmed in other further studies, but not in all of them. Importantly, studies not confirming a positive influence usually found a neutral effect. The data for most of the studies had been mainly collected in the time prior to the availability of highly effective antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Since HAART has become available, some authors have reported a beneficial effect while others have shown only a neutral influence of GB virus C on HIV, considering either survival or the degree of response to HAART. An explanation for these discrepancies may be that different GB virus C strains exhibit different replication capacities. Understanding the mechanisms by how GB virus C and HIV interact may help find new strategies to fight HIV infection. Some recent in vitro findings have added evidence on how GB virus C might interact with and inhibit HIV replication. In this review, we update the current knowledge on GB virus C, its role in HIV infection in the HAART era, and discuss the potential mechanisms of its beneficial effect.
在寻找新型肝炎病毒的过程中，两个独立的研究小组鉴定出了名为GB病毒C和庚型肝炎病毒的病毒，结果发现它们是同一病原体的不同毒株。尽管最初将其归为肝炎病毒，但这种新型病毒并不会引发任何肝炎。因此，更倾向使用GB病毒C这一术语。1998年，在GB病毒C合并感染的患者中发现其能显著改善HIV感染的临床病程。这些结果在其他进一步研究中得到了证实，但并非所有研究都如此。重要的是，未证实有积极影响的研究通常发现其作用是中性的。大多数研究的数据主要是在高效抗逆转录病毒疗法（HAART）出现之前收集的。自从有了HAART之后，一些作者报告了有益作用，而另一些作者则表明GB病毒C对HIV的影响无论是在生存率还是对HAART的反应程度方面都只是中性的。这些差异的一个解释可能是不同的GB病毒C毒株具有不同的复制能力。了解GB病毒C与HIV相互作用的机制可能有助于找到对抗HIV感染的新策略。最近的一些体外研究结果为GB病毒C可能如何与HIV相互作用并抑制其复制提供了更多证据。在这篇综述中，我们更新了关于GB病毒C的现有知识、它在HAART时代HIV感染中的作用，并讨论了其有益作用的潜在机制。
