TY - JOUR
T1 - Hepatitis C virus in pelvic lymph nodes and female reproductive organs
AU - Sugiyama, Kazuo
AU - Kato, Nobuyuki
AU - Ikeda, Masanori
AU - Mizutani, Tetsuya
AU - Shimotohno, Kunitada
AU - Kato, Tomoyasu
AU - Sugiyama, Yuko
AU - Hasumi, Katsuhiko
PY - 1997/10
Y1 - 1997/10
N2 - Based on epidemiological evidence, hepatitis C virus (HCV) is thought to be involved in the etiology of not only hepatocellular carcinoma, but also lymphoproliferative diseases. In addition, our previous studies using recently developed cell culture systems that support HCV replication have indicated that HCV possesses both hepatotropism and lymphotropism. To determine whether HCV is present in extrahepatic organs, we conducted semi-quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction for the 5' non-coding region of the HCV genome in surgical specimens (lymph nodes, ovary, uterus, peripheral blood mononuclear cells [PBMCs] and serum) from three patients with gynecological cancer. We found relatively high HCV genome titers in the lymph nodes, not in the sera, irrespective of various titers in PBMCs. These results suggest that lymph nodes may play an important role in the carrier state and the persistence of HCV infection. Moreover, contrary to expectation, high titers of the HCV genome were observed in the ovaries and the uteri, suggesting the feasibility of mother-to-infant and spouse-to-spouse transmissions of HCV.
AB - Based on epidemiological evidence, hepatitis C virus (HCV) is thought to be involved in the etiology of not only hepatocellular carcinoma, but also lymphoproliferative diseases. In addition, our previous studies using recently developed cell culture systems that support HCV replication have indicated that HCV possesses both hepatotropism and lymphotropism. To determine whether HCV is present in extrahepatic organs, we conducted semi-quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction for the 5' non-coding region of the HCV genome in surgical specimens (lymph nodes, ovary, uterus, peripheral blood mononuclear cells [PBMCs] and serum) from three patients with gynecological cancer. We found relatively high HCV genome titers in the lymph nodes, not in the sera, irrespective of various titers in PBMCs. These results suggest that lymph nodes may play an important role in the carrier state and the persistence of HCV infection. Moreover, contrary to expectation, high titers of the HCV genome were observed in the ovaries and the uteri, suggesting the feasibility of mother-to-infant and spouse-to-spouse transmissions of HCV.
KW - Hepatitis C virus (HCV)
KW - Lymph node
KW - Ovary
KW - Uterus
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U2 - 10.1111/j.1349-7006.1997.tb00309.x
DO - 10.1111/j.1349-7006.1997.tb00309.x
M3 - Article
C2 - 9414651
AN - SCOPUS:0030668328
VL - 88
SP - 925
EP - 927
JO - Cancer Science
JF - Cancer Science
SN - 1347-9032
IS - 10
ER -