Genotyping and Infection Rate of GBV-C among Iranian HCV- Infected Patients

authors:

avatar Reza Ghanbari 1 , avatar Mehrdad Ravanshad ORCID 2 , * , avatar Seyed Younes Hosseini 1 , avatar Ramin Yaghobi 3 , avatar Kiana Shahzamani 1

Department of Virology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, IR.Iran
Department of Virology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, ravanshad@modares.ac.ir, Tehran, IR.Iran
Department of Virology, Shiraz Transplant Research Center, Nemazee Hospital, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Fars, IR.Iran
Hepatitis Monthly: Vol.10, issue 2; 80-87
article type: Research Article
received: July 2, 2009
accepted: February 18, 2010

how to cite: Ghanbari R, Ravanshad M, Hosseini S, Yaghobi R, Shahzamani K. Genotyping and Infection Rate of GBV-C among Iranian HCV- Infected Patients. Hepat Mon. 2010;10(2): 80-87. 

Abstract

Background and Aims: Hepatitis G virus/GB virus-C (HGV/GBV-C) is a newly identified member of the Flaviviridae family. Its clinical significance in chronic hepatitis C infection remains controversial. There is a geographical difference in the distribution of GBV-C in the world. The frequency of GBV-C infection among hepatitis C virus (HCV) infected patients varies. The aim of the current study was to determine the prevalence and genotypes of GBV-C among Iranian patients infected with chronic HCV.

Methods: Infection with GBV-C was surveyed in 71 chronic confirmed hepatitis C infected patients. These samples were collected at the Digestive Disease Research Center (DDRC) of Shariati Hospital, Tehran, Iran from January to October 2007. The 5’-UTR region of GBV-C RNA was detected using a novel in-house touchdown nested reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), the products were sequenced and the results were aligned and phylogenically analyzed.

Results: Of the 71 HCV-infected patients, 31 (43.6%) were found positive for GBV-C RNA. Sequencing and phylogenic analysis showed that the samples were Genotype 2 of GBV-C.

Conclusions: It seems that there is a high rate of GBV-C infection among Iranian patients infected with chronic HCV. In comparison with the six reference genotypes, it was observed that all the samples were categorized in Genotype 2 of GBV-C, prevalent in North America, Africa and in European countries.

Keywords: GBV-C, HCV, Prevalence, Genotyping, Iranian, 5’-UTR

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