ANTIBODY TO THE HOST CELLULAR GENE-DERIVED EPITOPE GOR-1 IN LIVER-TRANSPLANT RECIPIENTS WITH HEPATITIS-C VIRUS-INFECTION

The presence of anti-GOR was determined in paired pre-orthotopic liver transplantation (pre-OLT) and post-OLT sera from 87 OLT patients with hepatitis C virus infection. Before OLT, 48/87 patients were sero pos itive for anti-GOR, but this marker had no relationship with the clini cal and biochemical parameters, or viremia level. Anti-GOR was less co mmonly detected in patients infected with genotype 3a, compared with g enotypes 1 and 2, which might be related to the less conserved nature of the proposed shared epitope (amino acid sequence 9-18) in genotype 3a isolates. After OLT (median follow-up 16 months), anti-GOR was dete cted in 31/87 patients and it had no correlation with the clinical and biochemical parameters, viremia level, histologic disease activity, a nd clinical outcome. Changes in anti-GOR status (before OLT versus aft er OLT) were also not related to any of the clinical parameters. Altho ugh anti-GOR is commonly detected in OLT patients infected with hepati tis C virus genotypes 1 and 2, it has no clinical or prognostic signif icance.