Antigen-antibody system associated with non-A, non-B hepatitis detected by indirect immunofluorescence.

Ten chimpanzees were infected with non-A, non-B hepatitis by inoculation of patient serum or serum from a chimpanzee previously inoculated with patient serum. Convalescent serum from one of them reacted, in indirect immunofluorescent tests, with some of the hepatocyte nuclei in sections of autologous liver biopsy specimens and specimens from eight of the other chimpanzees. Serum from a convalescent patient reacted in the same way. These positive sera did not react with liver sections from uninfected chimpanzees. No reaction with positive liver sections was given by serum from chimpanzees which were uninfected or had antibodies to hepatitis A or B antigens. These control results suggest that the antigen-antibody system detected has specificity for non-A, non-B hepatitis.