Pathogenicity of GB virus C on virus hepatitis and hemodialysis patients

AIM:To determine the pathogenicity of GB virus C (GBV-C)on liver and the effects of its co-infection on the clinicalfeatures and prognosis of patients with hepatitis B and C.METHODS:Cross-sectional study was carried out in 413patients with acute,chronic hepatitis B or liver cirrhosis,and in 67 hemodialysis patients.A 20-month prospectivecohort study was carried out in 95 hepatitis B and 80 hepatitisC patients.A reverse transcriptase nested polymerase chainreaction (RT-nPCR) of the 5’-noncoding region was used todetect circulating GBV-C RNA.Liver function was determinedby an automated analyzer for all patients.RESULTS:The prevalence of GBV-C in the high-riskpopulations with the virus transmitted via blood was high,ranging from 16.2 to 28.8 %.Co-infection with GBV-C inhepatitis B patients did not affect the clinical features of thedisease or liver function.The dialysis patients infected withGBV-C alone did not develop functional changes to the liver.Prospective cohort study showed that GBV-C co-infectiondid not affect the clinical features,prognosis or negativeserum conversion rate of chronic hepatitis B and C.CONCLUSION: The results suggest that GBV-C has no marked pathogenicity on liver, so it may not be a hepatitis virus.