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GB virus C

 
Medical Encyclopedia: Hepatitis G
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Definition

Hepatitis G is a newly discovered form of liver inflammation caused by hepatitis G virus (HGV), a distant relative of the hepatitis C virus.

Description

HGV, also called hepatitis GB virus, was first described early in 1996. Little is known about the frequency of HGV infection, the nature of the illness, or how to prevent it. What is known is that transfused blood containing HGV has caused some cases of hepatitis. For this reason, patients with hemophilia and other bleeding conditions who require large amounts of blood or blood products are at risk of hepatitis G. HGV has been identified in between 1–2% of blood donors in the United States. Also at risk are patients with kidney disease who have blood exchange by hemodialysis, and those who inject drugs into their veins. It is possible that an infected mother can pass on the virus to her newborn infant. Sexual transmission also is a possibility.

Often patients with hepatitis G are infected at the same time by the hepatitis B or C virus, or both. In about three of every thousand patients with acute viral hepatitis, HGV is the only virus present. There is some indication that patients with hepatitis G may continue to carry the virus in their blood for many years, and so might be a source of infection in others.

— David A. Cramer, MD


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Dental Dictionary: hepatitis G
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n

A viral infection of the stomach and intestines, transmitted via blood and coinfection with the hepatitis C virus. The duration of the incubation period and range of symptoms are unknown, and no vaccine is available.

Wikipedia: GB virus C
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GB virus C
Virus classification
Group: Group IV ((+)ssRNA)
Order: Unassigned
Family: Flaviviridae
Genus: Unassigned
Species: GB virus C

GB virus C (GBV-C), formerly known as Hepatitis G virus (HGV), is a virus in the Flaviviridae family which has not yet been assigned to a genus, is known to infect humans, but is not known to cause human disease. There have been reports that HIV patients coinfected with GBV-C can survive longer than those without GBV-C, but the patients may be different in other ways. There is current active research into the virus' effects on the immune system in patients coinfected with GBV-C and HIV.[1][2]

Contents

History

Hepatitis G virus and GB virus C (GBV-C) are RNA viruses that were independently identified in 1995, and were subsequently found to be two isolates of the same virus.[3][4][5][6] Although GBV-C was initially thought to be associated with chronic hepatitis, extensive investigation failed to identify any association between this virus and any clinical illness.[7]

Taxonomy

GBV-C is a member of the Flaviviridae family and is phylogenetically related to hepatitis C virus but appears to replicate primarily in lymphocytes, and poorly if at all in hepatocytes.[8][9] GBV-A and GBV-B are probably tamarin viruses, while GBV-C infects humans.[10]

Human infection

The majority of immune-competent individuals appear to clear GBV-C viraemia within the first few years following infection and although the time interval between GBV-C infection and clearance of viraemia (detection of GBV-C RNA in plasma) is not known, infection may persist for decades in some individuals.

Approximately 2% of healthy US blood donors are viraemic with GBV-C, and up to 13% of blood donors have antibodies to E2 protein, indicating prior infection.

Parenteral, sexual and vertical transmission of GBV-C have all been documented, and because of shared modes of transmission, individuals infected with HIV are commonly co-infected with GBV-C. Among people with HIV infection, the prevalence of GBV-C viraemia ranges from 14 to 43%.[11]

Some studies have suggested that co-infection with GBV-C will actually slow the progression of HIV disease.[12]

References

  1. ^ Mosam, A.; Sathar, M. A.; Dawood, H.; Cassol, E.; Esterhuizen, T.M.; Coovadia, H.M. (2007). "Effect of GB Virus C Co-infection on Response to Generic HAART in African Patients with HIV-1 Clade C Infection". AIDS 21 (10): 1377–1379. doi:10.1097/QAD.0b013e3281532cb8. PMID 17545721. 
  2. ^ Jung S.; Eichenmüller, M.; Donhauser, N.; et al. (2007). "HIV Entry Inhibition by the Envelope 2 Glycoprotein of GB Virus C". AIDS 21 (5): 645–647. doi:10.1097/QAD.0b013e32803277c7. PMID 17314528. 
  3. ^ Simons, J. N.; Pilot-Matias, T. J.; Leary, T. P.; et al. (April 1995). "Identification of Two Flavivirus-like Genomes in the GB Hepatitis Agent". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 92 (8): 3401–3405. doi:10.1073/pnas.92.8.3401. PMID 7724574. 
  4. ^ Simons, J. N.; Leary, T. P.; Dawson G. J.; et al. (June 1995). "Isolation of Novel Virus-like Sequences Associated with Human Hepatitis". Nat. Med. 1 (6): 564–569. doi:10.1038/nm0695-564. PMID 7585124. 
  5. ^ Yoshiba M.; Okamoto, H.; Mishiro, S. (October 1995). "Detection of the GBV-C Hepatitis Virus Genome in Serum from Patients with Fulminant Hepatitis of Unknown Aetiology". Lancet 346 (8983): 1131–1132. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(95)91802-7. PMID 7475605. 
  6. ^ Birkenmeyer, L. G.; Desai, S. M.; Muerhoff, A. S.; Leary, T. P.; Simons, J. N.; Montes, C. C.; Mushahwar, I. K. (1998). "Isolation of a GB Virus-related Genome from a Chimpanzee". J. Med. Virol. 56 (1): 44–51. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1096-9071(199809)56:1<44::AID-JMV8>3.0.CO;2-N. PMID 9700632. 
  7. ^ Alter, H. J. (June 1996). "The Cloning and Clinical Implications of HGV and HGBV-C". N. Engl. J. Med. 334 (23): 1536–1537. doi:10.1056/NEJM199606063342310. PMID 8618611. http://content.nejm.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=short&pmid=8618611&promo=ONFLNS19. 
  8. ^ Leary, T. P.; Muerhoff, A. S.; Simons, J. N.; Pilot-Matias, T. J.; Erker, J. C.; Chalmers, M. L.; Schlauder, G. G.; Dawson, G. J.; Desai, S. M.; Mushahwar, I. K. (1996). "Sequence and Genomic Organization of GBV-C: A Novel Member of the Flaviviridae Associated with Human Non-A–E Hepatitis". J. Med. Virol. 48 (1): 60–67. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1096-9071(199601)48:1<60::AID-JMV10>3.0.CO;2-A. PMID 8825712. 
  9. ^ Thurner, C.; Witwer, C.; Hofacker, I. L.; Stadler, P. F. (May 2004). "Conserved RNA Secondary Structures in Flaviviridae Genomes". J. Gen. Virol. 85 (Pt 5): 1113–1124. doi:10.1099/vir.0.19462-0. PMID 15105528. http://vir.sgmjournals.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=15105528. 
  10. ^ Simons, J. N.; Desai, S. M.; Schultz, D. E.; Lemon, S. M.; Mushahwar, I. K. (1996). "Translation Initiation in GB Viruses A and C: Evidence for Internal Ribosome Entry and Implications for Genome Organization". J. Virol. 70 (9): 6126–6135. PMID 8709237. 
  11. ^ George, S. L.; Varmaz, D.; Stapleton, J. T. (2006). "GB Virus C Replicates in Primary T and B Lymphocytes". J. Infect. Dis. 193 (3): 451–454. doi:10.1086/499435. PMID 16388494. 
  12. ^ Zhang, W.; Chaloner, K.; Tillmann, H. L.; Williams, C. F.; Stapleton, J. T. (2006). "Effect of Early and Late GB Virus C Viraemia on Survival of HIV-infected Individuals: A Meta-analysis". HIV Med. 7 (3): 173–180. doi:10.1111/j.1468-1293.2006.00366.x. PMID 16494631. http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/openurl?genre=article&sid=nlm:pubmed&issn=1464-2662&date=2006&volume=7&issue=3&spage=173. 

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Infectious diseases · Viral diseases (A80–B34, 042–079)
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see also DNA antivirals, RNA antivirals, Antiretroviral drug

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