HUMORAL IMMUNE-RESPONSE TO THE HYPERVARIABLE REGION OF HEPATITIS-C VIRUS DIFFERS BETWEEN GENOTYPES 1B AND 2A

Antibody to the hypervariable region (HVR) of HCV is thought to have n eutralizing activity. The HCV genotype is known to affect the clinical course of infection. The antibody response to HVR and its relationshi p to the virologic and clinical characteristics were investigated in 2 1 patients with chronic hepatitis C. HVRs amplified by polymerase chai n reaction from serum HCV were expressed as glutathione S-transferase fusion proteins. From 8 to 34 clones per serum sample were obtained (3 75 clones total), and the anti-HVR antibody in serum was assessed by W estern blot. Both the incidence of fusion proteins positive for anti-H VR antibody and the activity of antibody were significantly higher in 6 patients with genotype 2a than in 15 patients with genotype Ib. This result suggests that the quantity of humoral response to HVR affects the clinical outcome of infection with these two HCV genotypes.