Role of GB virus C in modulating HIV disease

GB virus type C: a virus in search of a disease or a role in HIV therapy?

GB virus type C, first isolated in 1995, is a single-stranded RNA flavivirus that is genetically similar to hepatitis C virus (HCV) [1]. GBV-C is a relatively common infection worldwide, with up to 2% of blood donors and up to 40% of injection drug users (IDUs) in the United States demonstrating presence of GBV-C RNA in their plasma [1]. Up to 16% of healthy US blood donors and up to 70% of US ...

GB virus C/hepatitis G virus--its role in human disease redefined?

GB virus C: cellular interactions, HIV inhibition and natural history

GB virus C (GBV-C) is a nonpathogenic lymphotropic virus that replicates in B and T lymphocytes. Infection with GBV-C is documented worldwide and is common: between 1% and 5% of healthy blood donors are viremic at the time of donation. Antibodies to GBV-C proteins are not usually detected during viremia, and antibodies to the GBV-C envelope glycoprotein E2 develop following the clearance of vir...

GB virus C coinfection and HIV-1 disease progression: The Amsterdam Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND The effect that GB virus C (GBV-C) coinfection has on human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) disease progression is controversial and therefore was studied in 326 homosexual men from the prospective Amsterdam Cohort Studies who had an accurately estimated date of HIV-1 seroconversion and were followed up for a median period of 8 years. METHODS A first plasma sample, obtained s...

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...