Effect of primer selection on estimates of GB virus C (GBV-C) prevalence and response to antiretroviral therapy for optimal testing for GBV-C viremia.

ABSTRACT: GB virus C (GBV-C; also called hepatitis G virus) is a common cause of infection associated with prolonged survival among HIV-infected individuals. The prevalences of GBV-C viremia vary widely in different studies, and there has been poor agreement among different laboratories performing GBV-C RNA detection in quality control studies. To determine the optimal method of measuring GBV-C RNA in clinical samples, samples obtained from 939 HIV-infected subjects were studied using reverse transcription (RT)-PCR methods amplifying four separate regions of the GBV-C genome. Primers amplifying the E2 coding region were 100% specific; however, their sensitivity was only 76.6%. In contrast, primers amplifying three additional conserved regions of the GBV-C genome (the 5' nontranslated region and the

SUBMITTER: Souza IE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1594694 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature