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Interactions between GB virus type C and HIV

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Abstract

GB virus C (GBV-C, also known as hepatitis G virus) commonly causes human infection. Genetically, it is closely related to hepatitis C virus, but GBV-C appears to grow primarily in lymphocytes, not hepatocytes. Although it causes persistent infection in about 25% to 50% of infected individuals, numerous studies have failed to connect GBV-C with any disease process. GBV-C is transmitted sexually, parenterally, and vertically, and due to these shared modes of transmission, coinfection is common among HIV-infected individuals. Of 10 studies done of HIV-GBV-C coinfection, eight found a beneficial effect of GBV-C viremia on HIVrelated mortality or response to therapy. The mechanism by which GBV-C may improve survival of HIV-positive people is not known; however, in vitro studies suggest that GBV-C inhibits HIV replication, and preliminary data also point toward alterations in cytokine and/or chemokine expression by GBV-C-infected cells.

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  1. Internal Medicine, UIHC, SW34-P,GH, 200 Hawkins Drive, 52242, Iowa City, IA, USA

    Jack T. Stapleton MD

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  1. Sarah L. George MD
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  2. Sabina Wünschmann PhD
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  3. James McCoy PhD
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  4. Jinhua Xiang MD
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  5. Jack T. Stapleton MD
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George, S.L., Wünschmann, S., McCoy, J. et al. Interactions between GB virus type C and HIV. Curr Infect Dis Rep 4, 550–558 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11908-002-0044-9

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