Previous Article | Next Article ![]()
J Virol, April 1998, p. 2589-2599, Vol. 72, No. 4
Department of Virology and Immunology,
Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research, San Antonio, Texas
78227,1 and
Department of Microbiology,
University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San
Antonio, Texas 782842
Received 15 September 1997/Accepted 22 December 1997
The clinical course of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections in a
chimpanzee cohort was examined to better characterize the outcome of
this valuable animal model. Results of a cross-sectional study revealed
that a low percentage (39%) of HCV-inoculated chimpanzees were viremic
based on reverse transcription (RT-PCR) analysis. A correlation was
observed between viremia and the presence of anti-HCV antibodies. The
pattern of antibodies was dissimilar among viremic chimpanzees and
chimpanzees that cleared the virus. Viremic chimpanzees had a higher
prevalence of antibody reactivity to NS3, NS4, and NS5. Since an
unexpectedly low percentage of chimpanzees were persistently infected
with HCV, a longitudinal analysis of the virological profile of a small
panel of HCV-infected chimpanzees was performed to determine the
kinetics of viral clearance and loss of antibody. This study also
revealed that a low percentage (33%) of HCV-inoculated chimpanzees
were persistently viremic. Analysis of serial bleeds from six
HCV-infected animals revealed four different clinical profiles. Viral
clearance with either gradual or rapid loss of anti-HCV antibody was
observed in four animals within 5 months postinoculation. A
chronic-carrier profile characterized by persistent HCV RNA and
anti-HCV antibody was observed in two animals. One of these chimpanzees
was RT-PCR positive, antibody negative for 5 years and thus represented
a silent carrier. If extrapolated to the human population, these data
would imply that a significant percentage of unrecognized HCV
infections may occur and that silent carriers may represent potentially
infectious blood donors.
0022-538X/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Analysis of Hepatitis C Virus-Inoculated
Chimpanzees Reveals Unexpected Clinical Profiles
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of
Virology and Immunology, Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research, 7620 N.W. Loop 410, San Antonio, TX 78228. Phone: (210) 670-3245. Fax:
(210) 670-3329. E-mail: rlanford{at}icarus.sfbr.org.
This article has been cited by other articles:
| J. Bacteriol. | Mol. Cell. Biol. | Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. |
|---|
| Clin. Vaccine Immunol. | ALL ASM JOURNALS |
|---|