Prevalence of production of virus-specific interferon-γ among seronegative hepatitis C-resistant subjects reporting injection drug use

AJ Freeman, RA Ffrench, JJ Post… - The Journal of …, 2004 - academic.oup.com
AJ Freeman, RA Ffrench, JJ Post, CE Harvey, SJ Gilmour, PA White, G Marinos, I Van Beek…
The Journal of infectious diseases, 2004academic.oup.com
This report describes subjects who were highly likely to have been repeatedly exposed to
hepatitis C virus (HCV) through injection drug use and who remained negative for anti-HCV
antibody. Production of virus-specific interferon-γ by peripheral blood mononuclear cells
was seen in the majority of subjects (72%) and was associated with higher-risk behavior. For
92% of the subjects, results of recombinant immunoblotassays demonstrated faint bands
against nonstructural proteins. The immune responses described are likely to have been …
Abstract
This report describes subjects who were highly likely to have been repeatedly exposed to hepatitis C virus (HCV) through injection drug use and who remained negative for anti-HCV antibody. Production of virus-specific interferon-γ by peripheral blood mononuclear cells was seen in the majority of subjects (72%) and was associated with higher-risk behavior. For 92% of the subjects, results of recombinant immunoblotassays demonstrated faint bands against nonstructural proteins. The immune responses described are likely to have been primed and maintained by episodes of subclinical infection without classic seroconversion and may indicate a hepatitis C-resistant phenotype. Vaccine strategies to mimic this response may provide protection against persistent HCV infection.
Oxford University Press