GB virus C: the good boy virus?

GB virus-C (hepatitis G virus) nostalgia.

The newly discovered human flavivirus identified as GB virus-C [1] and hepatitis G virus (HGV) [2], presents intriguing challenges in virology, epidemiology, and blood banking. Its clinical relevance for hepatology, however, appears to have been short-lived. Murthy and colleagues in this issue of Kidney International [3] provide additional evidence that the virus is not associated with clinical...

GB virus C/hepatitis G virus infection in southern China.

The prevalence of GB virus C/hepatitis G virus (GBV-C/HGV) infection among intravenous drug users (IVDUs), patients with liver diseases, and blood donors in Nanning, southern China was studied. GBV-C/HGV RNA was detected by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction with primers derived from the 5'-untranslated region. GBV-C/HGV RNA was detected in 64 of 85 IVDUs, 20 of 80 persons with liv...

Homologous recombination in GB virus C/hepatitis G virus.

Analysis of 33 GB virus C/hepatitis G virus (GBV-C/HGV) full or nearly full genome sequences revealed several putative inter- and intrasubtype recombinants. The breakpoints of the recombinant regions were mapped using a maximum-likelihood method, and the statistical significance for each region was tested using Monte Carlo simulation. The results were highly significant and provided evidence fo...

GB virus type C: a beneficial infection?

Virus-specific cofactor requirement and chimeric hepatitis C virus/GB virus B nonstructural protein 3.

GB virus B (GBV-B) is closely related to hepatitis C virus (HCV) and causes acute hepatitis in tamarins (Saguinus species), making it an attractive surrogate virus for in vivo testing of anti-HCV inhibitors in a small monkey model. It has been reported that the nonstructural protein 3 (NS3) serine protease of GBV-B shares similar substrate specificity with its counterpart in HCV. Authentic prot...