Absence of hepatitis C genome in semen of infected men by polymerase chainreaction, branched DNA and in situ hybridization

Background/Aims: The presence or absence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA in the semen of infected man remains controversial, mainly due to technical di fficulties associated with nucleic acid detection. The aims of this study w ere to assess the presence of HCV RNA in spermatozoa and in seminal fluid u sing different polymerase chain reaction (PCR)- and non-PCR-dependent metho ds and, in the case of HCV presence, to correlate this detection with the v iraemia. Methods. Serum and semen from 25 chronically infected hepatitis C patients were studied. The semen was separated into spermatozoa and seminal fluid and HCV RNA was analysed in the two fractions using RT-PCR and branc hed DNA. The presence of HCV RNA in pelleted cells was also assessed using in situ hybridization. Results: All three approaches failed to demonstrate HCV RNA in semen. The presence of an inhibitor of the PCR was demonstrated in seminal fluid but not in spermatoza. Conclusion: Our results confirmed t he lack of detection of HCV RNA in semen by PCR- and non-PCR-dependent tech niques and support the view that viral contamination in semen remains, if p resent, at a very low level. Nevertheless, epidemiological studies are requ ired to definitively assess the absence of sexual transmission of HCV.