Assays that detect antibody to hepatitis C virus (HCV) are used to screen blood donors and patients with hepatitis. Current enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)-based methods are invariably based upon antigens from expressed recombinant proteins or oligopeptides from HCV type 1. Some HCV antigens used in screening assays are coded by regions of the HCV genome that show extensive variabilit...

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a common problem. Combined treatment with interferon and ribavirin improved treatment efficacy, but still high percentage of infected patients has not reached virus elimination. It was found that HCV infection course, but also treatment efficacy among other things can depend on patient's individual factors, including MHC genes structure for HLA tissue compat...

AIM To evaluate the association between human leukocyte antigens (HLA) class I and therapeutic response to interferon-alpha in Croatian patients with chronic hepatitis C. METHODS HLA-A, -B, and -C genotyping was performed in 55 patients with sustained virological response and in 57 patients without sustained virological response to interferon-alpha therapy. Patients were treated in the period...

Molecular biology techniques are routinely used to diagnose and monitor treatment of patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections. These tools can detect and quantify viral genomes and analyze their sequence to determine their genotype or subtype and to identify nucleotide or amino acid substitutions associated with resistance to antiviral drugs. They inc...

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections affect more than 170 million people worldwide. Most of these individuals are chronically infected, but some clear the infection rapidly. Host factors seem to play a key role in HCV clearance, among them are the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I molecules. Certain HLA molecules, e.g., B*27 and B*57, are associated with viral clearance. To identify potential...

Hemophilia is the most common congenital coagulative disorder which exposes the patients to many problems because of lack of coagulative factors, higher risk of viral infections and other complications. This study was designed to detect the prevalence of hepatitis B and C infection in hemophiliac patients referring to Kerman Samenalhojaj Center. For this purpose, 97 hemophiliac patients were st...

The primary hepatocytes cultured from adult BALB/c mice were readily transfected by plasmid DNA and could be immortalized at a frequency of approximately 0.1 to 0.6 x 10(-7) cells/micrograms of the transfected DNA. There was no detectable plasmid DNA at the tenth cell passages. A total of five mouse hepatocyte cell lines were established. Most of them were tumorigenic. Three of the established ...

The spread of infectious diseases and vaccination history are common subjects of epidemiological and immunological research studies. Multiplexed serological assays are useful tools for assessing both current and previous infections as well as vaccination efficacy. We developed a serological multi-pathogen assay for hepatitis A, B and C virus, cytomegalovirus (CMV), Toxoplasma gondii, and Helico...