Jpn. J. Infect. Dis., 54 (2), 55-63, 2001

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Review

GB virus-C/Hepatitis G virus

Kenji Abe*

Department of Pathology, National Institute of Infectious Diseases,
Toyama 1-23-1, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8640, Japan

(Received January 25, 2001. Accepted April 23, 2001)

CONTENTS:
Summary
Introduction
History
Viral genome
Mutation rate of the viral genome
Diagnostic assay
Epidemiology and clinical significance
Hepatotropism and extrahepatic replication of the virus
Relation to hepatocellualr carcinoma occurrence
Experimental infection in chimpanzees
Co-infection in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients
Existence of viral genotypes and its geographic distribution
Conclusion

SUMMARY: GB virus-C (GBV-C)/hepatitis G virus (HGV) is a positive, single-strand RNA virus that has been classified in the family Flaviviridae. Interestingly, GBV-C/HGV appears to have a truncated or absent core protein at the amino terminus of the polyprotein. GBV-C/HGV is transmitted parenterally and probably sexually. Most GBV-C/HGV infections appear to be asymptomatic, persistent, and no correlation between virus infection and liver dysfunction although the disease-inducing activity of GBV-C/HGV remains to be investigated. Furthermore, there was no evidence of pathogenesis in the liver by experiment with chimpanzees. From these results, GBV-C/HGV might be considered as a kind of "orphan" virus in search of a disease. Epidemiological investigation demonstrated that GBV-C/HGV infection is present in about 1-1.4% of the healthy population in developed countries and in 8-14.6% in developing countries. The genome of GBV-C/HGV exhibits a sequence variation among different isolates. On the basis of this variation, it has been proposed that GBV-C/HGV can be classified into at least four major genotypes, consisting of type 1 (West Africa), type 2 (US/Europe), type 3 (Asia), and type 4 (Southeast Asia).

*Corresponding author: Tel: +81-3-5285-1111 ext. 2624, Fax: +81-3-5285-1189, E-mail: kenjiabe@nih.go.jp

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