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TT virus infection during chronic hepatitis C.
P Trimoulet1, V de Lédinghen, D Ekouevi
1Laboratoire de Virologie, Centre Hospitalier et Universitaire de Bordeaux, France.
The American Journal of Gastroenterology
|August 5, 2000
Summary
The study found Torque teno virus (TTV) DNA in 8.1% of patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. TTV presence did not significantly alter HCV replication or liver disease severity, questioning TTV's pathogenic role in chronic HCV.
Area of Science:
- Hepatology
- Virology
- Infectious Diseases
Background:
- The pathogenic role of TT virus (TTV) in chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection remains unclear.
- Investigating TTV co-infection in HCV patients is crucial for understanding disease progression.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the prevalence of TTV DNA in patients with chronic HCV infection.
- To compare clinical, virological, and histological characteristics between TTV-DNA-positive and TTV-DNA-negative HCV patients.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of 234 patients with chronic HCV infection.
- TTV DNA detection using nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
- Statistical analysis including chi-squared, Fisher's exact, and Mann-Whitney tests.
Main Results:
- TTV DNA was detected in 8.1% of the chronic HCV patient cohort.
- No significant differences were observed in age, gender, HCV source, duration, liver function, histology, HCV-RNA load, or genotype between TTV-positive and TTV-negative groups.
- A non-significant trend suggested higher TTV prevalence in patients with unknown HCV infection causes.
Conclusions:
- TTV co-infection did not appear to influence HCV replication rates.
- The severity of liver lesions was similar in both TTV-positive and TTV-negative patients.
- The hepatic pathogenicity of TTV in the context of chronic hepatitis C is questionable.