CORRELATION BETWEEN RELATIVE NUMBER OF CIRCULATING LOW-DENSITY HEPATITIS-C VIRUS-PARTICLES AND DISEASE-ACTIVITY IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC HEPATITIS-C

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) circulates as particles having differing buoya nt densities. Changes in the relative proportions of virus particles o f different densities were examined in 19 patients with chronic hepati tis C: 6 without (group A) and 13 with (group B) abnormal serum alanin e aminotransferase (ALT) levels, High-and low-density virus particles were separated by differential flotation centrifugation, The numbers o f high-density particles consistently exceeded that of low-density par ticles in all patients in group A, whereas the titers of both types of particles were the same at least once in 7 of 10 patients sampled at two time points in group B, The ALT level significantly increased <2 m onths later (P < 0.05) when the titers of both types of particles were the same in patients in group B. Thus, we found a correlation between the relative numbers of circulating low-density HCV particles and dis ease activity in chronic hepatitis C patients.