Non-A, non-B hepatitis specific antibodies directed at host-derived epitope: implication for an autoimmune process

• Published in: The Lancet (British edition) Vol. 336; no. 8728; p. 1400
• Main Authors: Mishiro, S, Hoshi, Y, Takeda, K, Yoshikawa, A, Gotanda, T, Takahashi, K, Akahane, Y, Yoshizawa, H, Okamoto, H, Tsuda, F
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 08.12.1990
• Subjects: Amino Acid Sequence; Animals; Autoimmune Diseases; Base Sequence; Blotting, Western; DNA, Circular - genetics; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Epitopes - genetics; Hepatitis Antibodies - immunology; Hepatitis C - immunology; Humans; Molecular Sequence Data; Pan troglodytes
• ISSN: 0140-6736
• DOI: 10.1016/0140-6736(90)93101-t

A cDNA clone (GOR47-1) bearing an epitope with an aminoacid sequence GRRGQKAKSNPNRPL (GOR epitope) was isolated from the plasma of a laboratory chimpanzee infected with human non-A, non-B hepatitis (NANBH) agent. The epitope was not encoded by reported sequences of hepatitis C virus (HCV) but instead was coded for by a host cellular sequence. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed for antibodies to the GOR epitope (anti-GOR). A patient with acute NANBH produced both IgM and IgG classes of anti-GOR in the acute phase of the illness, with concentrations of IgG class anti-GOR rising when anti-HCV became detectable. Anti-GOR was detected in serum from 59 (81%) of 73 patients with chronic NANBH, 40 (65%) of 62 with NANB liver cirrhosis, and 25 (63%) of 40 NANB patients with primary hepatocellular carcinoma, but in only less than 10% of patients with chronic liver diseases due to hepatitis B virus, alcohol, or an autoimmune disorder, and in only 2% of voluntary blood donors. Circulating HCV-RNA was detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in most patients seropositive for anti-GOR but negative for anti-HCV. Detection of anti-GOR would therefore help in the diagnosis of NANBH and in reducing the occurrence of post-transfusion hepatitis.