GB virus C quasispecies detected in plasma and lymphocyte subsets in a human natural infection

RUIZ V; GIORDANO M; RIVERO C; MINASSIAN ML; CUESTAS ML; TRINKS J; MATHET VL; OUBIÑA JR

JOURNAL OF GENERAL VIROLOGY

SOC GENERAL MICROBIOLOGY

Lugar: London; Año: 2010 vol. 91 p. 1687 - 1692

0022-1317

J Gen Virol. 2010 Jul;91(Pt 7):1687-92. Epub 2010 Mar 24. GB virus C quasispecies detected in plasma and lymphocyte subsets in a natural human infection. Ruiz V, Giordano M, Rivero CW, Minassian ML, Cuestas ML, Trinks J, Mathet VL, Oubiña JR. Source Centro para el Estudio de Hepatitis Virales, Departamento de Microbiología, Parasitología e Immunología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Paraguay 2155, Piso 11 (C1121ABG), Buenos Aires, Argentina. Abstract Genomic heterogeneity and quasispecies composition of GB virus C (GBV-C) within plasma and lymphocyte subsets in a naturally infected blood donor were investigated. For this purpose, fragments from the 5' untranslated region (5' UTR) and the E2 gene recovered from plasma, B and T lymphocytes, were cloned and sequenced. A total of 63 clones was analysed: 95.2 % of them (n=60) - obtained from plasma and cells - were assigned to genotype 2b, while only three derived from plasma corresponded to genotyope 3. The G215A transition within this region was present in 90.9 % of the clones from B lymphocytes, but absent in the remaining cell compartments (P<0.01). Apparently, most of the circulating GBV-C quasispecies in this blood donor were related to the viral population infecting CD8(+) T cells, and B cells to a lesser extent. This is the first report showing the quasispecies nature of GBV-C in lymphocyte subsets within peripheral blood mononuclear cells.