Sheikh Maryam, Bokharaei-Salim Farah, Monavari Seyed Hamidreza, Ataei-Pirkooh Angila, Esghaei Maryam, Moradi Najmeh, Babaei Roghayeh, Fakhim Atousa, Keyvani Hossein
Department of Virology, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Arch Virol. 2019 Feb;164(2):349-357. doi: 10.1007/s00705-018-4066-5. Epub 2018 Nov 2.
Occult HCV infection (OCI) has been described as the presence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) genomic RNA in hepatocytes and/or peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) specimens and the lack of HCV genomic RNA and anti-HCV antibodies (Abs) in plasma samples. Injection drug users (IDUs) are the most important high-risk group for infection with blood-borne viruses, particularly HCV. The purpose of this study was to determine the presence of OCI in IDUs. A prospective cross-sectional study of 126 consecutive Iranian IDUs was performed from March 2017 to January 2018. PBMCs were separated from blood samples from the participants, and after extraction of the viral RNA from the plasma and PBMC specimens, HCV RNA was detected in the samples using RT-nested PCR by amplification of the 5'-NTR of HCV. HCV genotyping was carried out using restriction a fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) assay. The viral RNA was amplified using RT-nested PCR with specific primers for the NS5B gene, and the PCR products were sequenced to confirm the results obtained by HCV RNA detection and HCV genotyping. Out of the 126 IDUs studied, 105 (83.3%) were negative for anti-HCV Abs and HCV RNA in plasma samples, whereas HCV RNA was detected in the PBMC samples of six (5.7%) participants, indicating that these individuals had OCI. Moreover, HCV genomic RNA was detected in PBMC samples from five (23.8%) of the 21 IDUs studied who were positive for anti-HCV Abs and negative for HCV genomic RNA in plasma specimens. These IDUs also had OCI. The HCV genotypes in the PBMC samples from the subjects with OCI were determined. Six (54.5%) subjects were infected with HCV subtype 3a, and five (45.5%) were infected with HCV subtype 1a. This study showed that 8.7% of the Iranian IDUs had OCI, and therefore, a study focusing on the diagnosis of OCI in these individuals can be valuable and informative.
隐匿性丙型肝炎病毒感染（OCI）被描述为在肝细胞和/或外周血单核细胞（PBMC）标本中存在丙型肝炎病毒（HCV）基因组RNA，而血浆样本中缺乏HCV基因组RNA和抗HCV抗体（Abs）。注射吸毒者（IDU）是感染血源性病毒尤其是HCV的最重要高危人群。本研究的目的是确定IDU中OCI的存在情况。2017年3月至2018年1月，对126名连续的伊朗IDU进行了一项前瞻性横断面研究。从参与者的血液样本中分离出PBMC，从血浆和PBMC标本中提取病毒RNA后，通过扩增HCV的5'-NTR，使用RT-巢式PCR在样本中检测HCV RNA。使用限制性片段长度多态性（RFLP）分析进行HCV基因分型。使用针对NS5B基因的特异性引物通过RT-巢式PCR扩增病毒RNA，并对PCR产物进行测序以确认通过HCV RNA检测和HCV基因分型获得的结果。在所研究的126名IDU中，105名（83.3%）血浆样本中的抗HCV Abs和HCV RNA呈阴性，而在6名（5.7%）参与者的PBMC样本中检测到HCV RNA，表明这些个体患有OCI。此外，在所研究的21名血浆标本中抗HCV Abs呈阳性且HCV基因组RNA呈阴性的IDU中，有5名（23.8%）的PBMC样本中检测到HCV基因组RNA。这些IDU也患有OCI。确定了患有OCI的受试者PBMC样本中的HCV基因型。6名（54.5%）受试者感染了HCV 3a亚型，5名（45.5%）感染了HCV 1a亚型。本研究表明，8.7%的伊朗IDU患有OCI，因此，针对这些个体的OCI诊断研究可能是有价值且信息丰富的。
