Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 13, 2026
Generation of Subcutaneous and Intrahepatic Human Hepatocellular Carcinoma Xenografts in Immunodeficient Mice
Published on: September 26, 2013
Hepatitis C in liver allografts
S N Thung1, K S Shim, Y S Shieh
1Lillian and Henry M. Stratton-Hans Popper Department of Pathology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, City University of New York, NY 10029.
Insights
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA detection in liver transplants reliably diagnoses HCV infection. This method is crucial for differentiating HCV from allograft rejection in transplant patients.
Area of Science:
- Hepatology
- Transplant Surgery
- Virology
Background:
- Recurrent or intercurrent hepatitis C poses challenges in liver transplant recipients.
- Distinguishing hepatitis C from allograft rejection is critical but difficult with standard tests.
- Pre-existing or delayed anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibody development complicates diagnosis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the utility of detecting HCV RNA in liver allograft biopsies for diagnosing hepatitis C post-transplant.
- To assess the reliability of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for HCV RNA detection in differentiating hepatitis C from allograft rejection.
Main Methods:
- HCV RNA was detected using reverse double polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in liver allograft biopsy specimens.
- The study included nine patients with hepatitis of uncertain origin and three with cellular allograft rejection.
- NS3 region sequences of HCV were analyzed.
Main Results:
- HCV RNA was detected in seven out of nine liver allograft biopsy specimens.
- HCV RNA was found in specimens collected 6 weeks to 20 months post-transplantation.
- HCV RNA was absent in two patients, one of whom tested positive for anti-HCV antibodies.
Conclusions:
- Hepatitis C virus is a significant cause of hepatitis after liver transplantation.
- Detecting HCV RNA in liver biopsy specimens via PCR is a reliable diagnostic method for hepatitis C in allografts.
- HCV infection post-transplant can result from acquisition during transplantation or recurrence of a prior infection.
Abstract:
Recurrent or intercurrent hepatitis C represents significant problems in patients with liver transplants and must be differentiated from hepatic allograft rejection and other conditions affecting allografts. Often, the currently available anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) tests are not helpful in the differential diagnosis, because preexisting anti-HCV may persist after transplantation or its development may be delayed. We determined the presence of HCV RNA by the reverse double polymerase chain reaction in biopsy specimens of liver allografts from nine patients with acute or chronic hepatitis of uncertain origin and from three patients with cellular allograft rejection. The NS3 region sequences of HCV were detected in seven of nine liver allograft biopsy specimens 6 weeks to 20 months after transplantation. Hepatitis C virus RNA was not detected in two patients. One of these patients was anti-HCV positive, showing mild acute hepatitis 5 weeks after transplantation. Anti-HCV was present in three patients with detectable HCV RNA in the liver but was absent from four other patients with HCV RNA. These findings suggest that HCV is a major cause of acute and chronic hepatitis following liver transplantation, that detection of HCV RNA by polymerase chain reaction in the liver biopsy specimen represents a reliable method for the diagnosis of hepatitis C in liver allografts, and that in some patients HCV may be acquired during transplantation while in others it may represent a recurrent infection.
