[Various physico-chemical properties of non-A, non-B hepatitis virus with a fecal-oral route of transmission and specific diagnosis of the illness]. / Nekotorye fiziko-khimicheskie svoistva virusa gepatita ni A ni B s fekal'no-orallnym mekhanizmom peredachi infektsii i spetsificheskaia diagnostika zabolevaniia.

Observations of 416 patients with and 112 convalescents after non-A-non-B virus hepatitis (HnAnB) with fecal-oral mechanism of transmission were carried out in 1984-1986. An enzyme immunoassay (EIA) was developed for the detection of HnAnB antigen in faeces. The rate of this antigen detection varied from 9.1% to 34.6% in different areas. The HnAnB antigen is present in two areas of cesium chloride density gradient: the maximum at 1.39-1.40 g/cm3 and another peak in the zone of 1.18-1.23 g/cm3. The method of radioimmunoprecipitation followed by SDS-polyacrylamide gel analysis showed the presence of several polypeptides of HnAnB virus. Most clearly, protein 30 K was documented, also polypeptides 91-94 K and 48-57 K were demonstrated. The resistance of nucleic acid of HnAnB virus to RNase was tested. The results indicate that the isolated NA is likely to be DNA. The above data suggest that the agent inducing HnAnB belongs to the group of parvoviruses.

[Further study of viral non-A, non-B hepatitis]. / Dal'neishee izuchenie virusnogo gepatita ni A, ni B.

The paper describes the study of non-A-non-B virus hepatitis with parenteral mechanism of the infection transmission. Immunofluorescence method was used to test 9 liver biopsies from patients with non-A-non-B hepatitis using blood sera from convalescents after this disease. In 6 liver preparations, diffuse fluorescence of hepatocyte cytoplasm was observed. No markers of hepatitis A or hepatitis B were found. In the control group of 17 patients with HB and HA, no non-A-non-B hepatitis antigen was detected. Analysis of the blood sera from the acute period by the ELISA demonstrated the presence of anti-HBs in 28.2% of the patients with non-A-non-B virus hepatitis which corresponds to the frequency of their detection in the normal population. Antibody to HBeAg were found in 59.5%, i. e. significantly more frequently than anti-HBs in non-A-non-B virus hepatitis (p less than 0.03) and anti-HBe in the normal population (15%, p less than 0.01). Experiments of DNA-DNA hybridization demonstrated the homology of HBV DNA and that isolated from the blood serum and liver of patients with non-A-non-B virus hepatitis. The above results suggest that the agent or one of the agents of parenteral non-A-non-B virus hepatitis belongs to the group of Hepadnaviruses.

[IgM- and IgG-class antibodies to the hepatitis C virus]. / Antitela k virusu gepatita C klassov IgM iIgG.

The test system widely used currently for the determination of anti-HCV permits the detection of anti-HCV IgG alone. The data recently published by T. G. Wreghitt et al. confirm the probability of the presence of anti-HCV of both IgG and IgM classes in sera from hepatitis C patients. Anti-HCV IgM was detected by Ortho test with some modifications using an anti-M conjugate in the last stage of the experiment. Anti-HCV IgG were detected by regular Ortho test. A total of 46 patients with different forms of HCV infection and a control group were examined. According to the preliminary data, 18 patients were positive in the routine anti-HCV Ortho test. Among 18 anti-HCV-positive patients, nine had chronic HCV infection and the other 9 acute HCV infection. The distribution of IgM and IgG anti-HCV in the acute patients was as follows: 4 patients (44.5%) had approximately equal titres of IgG and IgM, 3 (33.5%) had predominantly IgG, 2 (22.2%) mainly IgM. A similar pattern was observed in the group with chronic HCV infection. Thus, 5 subjects (55.6%) showed approximately equal ratio of IgM and IgG anti-HCV, 2 (22.2%) had mostly IgM and the rest 2 mainly IgG. No anti-HCV in the control group was found. The control group consisted of 18 patients with chronic liver diseases without markers of HBV or HDV infection, 3 with HAV infection, 2 with HBV infection and 5 healthy subjects. The specificity of anti-HCV IgM test was confirmed by Chiron Western blot analysis using the same modification.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

[The production of anti-HBc IgM antibodies by human lymphocytes transformed by the Epstein-Barr virus]. / Produktsiia anti-HBc IgM-antitel limfotsitami cheloveka, transformirovannymi virusom Epshteina--Barr.

In transformation by Epstein-Barr virus of lymphocytes derived from patients with acute hepatitis B, continuous cell cultures were obtained which produced anti-HBc IgM antibodies. These cell lines underwent from 50 to 150 passages. The level of the specific immunoglobulin production was shown to have a trend to decline; however, after cloning the antibody production became more stable. The antibodies produced by the cloned lymphocyte culture could not neutralize the antigen (unlike polyclonal antibodies) which indicated a high efficacy of cloning. When the solid phase was sensitized with produced immunoglobulins, specific activity of binding of HBc antigen detectable by anti-HBc conjugate with horseradish peroxidase was demonstrated. The study of sedimentation properties of antibodies produced by transformed lymphocytes showed their sedimentation constant to be 19S.