Division of Clinical Immunology and Allergy, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
PLoS One. 2011 Apr 5;6(4):e18407. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0018407.
The results of previous studies elsewhere have indicated that GB virus C (GBV-C) infection is frequent in patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) due to similar transmission routes of both viruses. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence, incidence density and genotypic characteristics of GBV-C in this population.
METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The study population included 233 patients from a cohort primarily comprised of homosexual men recently infected with HIV-1 in São Paulo, Brazil. The presence of GBV-C RNA was determined in plasma samples by reverse transcriptase-nested polymerase chain reaction and quantified by real-time PCR. GBV-C genotypes were determined by direct sequencing. HIV viral load, CD4+ T lymphocyte and CD8+ T lymphocyte count were also tested in all patients. The overall prevalence of GBV-C infection was 0.23 (95% CI: 0.18 to 0.29) in the study group. There was no significant difference between patients with and without GBV-C infection and Glycoprotein E2 antibody presence regarding age, sex, HIV-1 viral load, CD4+ and CD8+T cell counts and treatment with antiretroviral drugs. An inverse correlation was observed between GBV-C and HIV-1 loads at enrollment and after one year. Also, a positive but not significant correlation was observed between GBV-C load and CD4+ T lymphocyte. Phylogenetic analysis of the GBV-C isolates revealed the presence of genotype 1 and genotype 2, these sub classified into subtype 2a and 2b.
CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: GBV-C infection is common in recently HIV -1 infected patients in Sao Paulo, Brazil and the predominant genotype is 2b. This study provides the first report of the GBV-C prevalence at the time of diagnosis of HIV-1 and the incidence density of GBV-C infection in one year.
先前在其他地方的研究结果表明，由于两种病毒具有相似的传播途径，GB 病毒 C（GBV-C）在感染人类免疫缺陷病毒 1（HIV-1）的患者中感染较为频繁。本研究旨在确定该人群中 GBV-C 的流行率、发病率密度和基因型特征。
方法/主要发现：研究人群包括 233 名来自巴西圣保罗的主要由新近感染 HIV-1 的同性恋男性组成的队列中的患者。通过逆转录酶套式聚合酶链反应（RT-nested PCR）在血浆样本中检测到 GBV-C RNA，并通过实时 PCR 进行定量。通过直接测序确定 GBV-C 基因型。所有患者还检测了 HIV 病毒载量、CD4+T 淋巴细胞和 CD8+T 淋巴细胞计数。在研究组中，GBV-C 感染的总体流行率为 0.23（95%CI：0.18 至 0.29）。在有无 GBV-C 感染以及是否存在糖蛋白 E2 抗体方面，患者的年龄、性别、HIV-1 病毒载量、CD4+和 CD8+T 细胞计数以及抗逆转录病毒药物治疗无显著差异。在入组时和入组后一年，观察到 GBV-C 与 HIV-1 负荷呈负相关。此外，还观察到 GBV-C 负荷与 CD4+T 淋巴细胞呈正相关，但无统计学意义。GBV-C 分离株的系统发育分析显示存在基因型 1 和基因型 2，这些亚型进一步分为 2a 和 2b。
结论/意义：GBV-C 感染在巴西圣保罗新近感染 HIV-1 的患者中较为常见，主要基因型为 2b。本研究首次报道了 HIV-1 诊断时 GBV-C 的流行率以及一年内 GBV-C 感染的发病率密度。
