Hepatitis C virus replicates in the liver of patients who have a sustained response to antiviral treatment.

BACKGROUND: Positive-strand hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA has been detected in the livers of patients who have achieved a sustained biochemical and virological response to antiviral therapy (hereafter, referred to as sustained responders), but negative-strand HCV RNA was undetectable in the hepatic tissue of these patients. We studied the presence of both positive- and negative-strand HCV RNA in the livers of 20 sustained responders with chronic hepatitis C whose response persisted for a mean (+/- standard deviation [SD]) of 47.4+/-32.8 months after treatment.
METHODS: HCV RNA was tested by strand-specific, real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and by in situ hybridization in posttreatment liver biopsy samples (obtained a mean [+/- SD] 35.4+/-35.0 months after therapy) and in patients' peripheral blood mononuclear cells.
RESULTS: Positive-strand HCV RNA was found in 19 (95%) of 20 liver biopsy specimens, and negative-strand HCV RNA was found in 15 (79%) of the 19 samples that had positive-strand HCV RNA. These results were confirmed by in situ hybridization. Regarding peripheral blood mononuclear cells, 13 (65%) of 20 samples had positive-strand HCV RNA, and negative-strand HCV RNA was detected in 12 (92%) of the 13 samples with positive-strand HCV RNA. Liver necroinflammation was still present in the posttreatment liver biopsy specimens of 15 patients, and fibrosis was present in 7, although liver damage improved in all but 2 patients.
CONCLUSIONS: HCV persisted and replicated in the livers and peripheral blood mononuclear cells of most sustained responders. Thus, these patients did not experience HCV infection clearance, despite apparent clinical disease resolution.