1. Transmission in vitro of hepatitis C virus from persistently infected human B-cells to hepatoma cells by cell-to-cell contact.
- Author
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Valli MB, Serafino A, Crema A, Bertolini L, Manzin A, Lanzilli G, Bosman C, Iacovacci S, Giunta S, Ponzetto A, Clementi M, and Carloni G
- Subjects
- B-Lymphocytes physiology, Carcinoma, Hepatocellular psychology, Cell Communication, Cell Line, Coculture Techniques, Hepacivirus metabolism, Hepatitis C virology, Humans, Virus Cultivation, B-Lymphocytes virology, Carcinoma, Hepatocellular virology, Hepacivirus physiology, Virus Replication
- Abstract
Virus cell-to-cell spread has been reported for many different viruses and may contribute to pathogenesis of viral disease. The role played by cell-to-cell contact in hepatitis C virus (HCV) transmission was studied in vitro by cell co-cultivation experiments. A human lymphoblastoid B-cell line, infected persistently with HCV in vitro (TO.FE(HCV)), was used as HCV donor [Serafino et al., 2003]; recipient cells were the human hepatoma HepG2 cell line. Both cell types were co-cultured for 48 hr to allow the cell-to-cell contacts. The hepatoma HepG2 cells are not permissive to free-virus infection, but they were infected successfully using TO.FE(HCV) cells as source of virus. The kinetics of viral RNA synthesis and the percentage of infected cells were compared in cell-mediated-and cell-free-viral infection. After co-cultivation, a consistent proportion of hepatoma cells replicated HCV and stably expressed viral antigens. Virus produced was infectious as demonstrated by the ability to reinfect fresh B-cells. This cell model shows that permissiveness to HCV infection can be achieved in vitro in non-permissive hepatoma cells by direct cell-to-cell contacts with infected human B-cells. This mechanism of virus spread may also play a pathogenic role in vivo., (Copyright 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.)
- Published
- 2006
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