Occult Hepatitis C Virus Infection in Spanish Patients with Lymphoproliferative Disorders

Occult hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection (OI) can be found in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and serum of anti-HCV, HCV-RNAnegative individuals. As HCV is related with several lymphoproliferative disorders (LPD), the aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of OI in Spanish patients with LPD. Sixty patients with LPD were included: 58 with B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (B-NHL), 1 with Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) and 1 with T-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (T-NHL). RNA was extracted from CD19+ B cells positively isolated form PBMCs as well as CD19- fraction, mainly lymphocytes T+ monocytes and NK cells, negatively selected. The detection and quantitation of both HCV-RNA strands was performed by strand-specific RT-PCR. Furthermore, IgG antibody to an HCV core-derived peptide (anti-HCV core), was also analyzed. OI was detected in 8/60 (13.33%) patients with LPD: 6 with B-NHL and those with HL and T-NHL. In the B-NHL group, HCV-RNA positive strand was found in the CD19- fraction of 3 patients (one of them bearing the negative strand too), and in B-cells from the other 3. Both HCV-RNA strands were detected in the CD19- fraction of the HL patient, who showed certain anti-HCV core reactivity. In the T-NHL patient, the positive strand was detected in B-cells. In conclusion, patients with LPD without signs of classic HCV infection may have OI in PBMCs. The study of the virus presence in these cellular sub populations is of interest, as HCV is known by its oncogenic properties.