[Type-specific antibodies to hepatitis C virus in sera from patients with various hematologic diseases]. / Tipospetsificheskie antitela k virusu gepatita C v syvorotkakh bol'nykh s razlichnymi zabolevaniiami krovi.

The reactivity of 100 sera taken from patients with different blood diseases and donors with respect to synthesized peptides in the variable area of protein NS4 of hepatitis C virus was studied. The presence of type-specific antibodies in the blood sera of patients with hepatitis C was shown. Two antigenic determinant corresponding to 1683-1705 and 1711-1732 amino acid residues in the protein area under study were detected. In hematological patients undergoing frequent blood transfusions mixed infection with different types of hepatitis C virus was registered; these types could be reliably determined with the use of synthetic peptides. The serotype determined with the use of peptides corresponded to the type of the circulating virus.

[Detection of hepatitis C markers--nucleocapsid protein, RNA and virus-specific antibodies in blood donor plasma]. / Vyiavlenie markerov virusa gepatitia C--belka nukleokapsida, RNK i virusspetsificheskikh antitel v plazmakh krovi donorov.

Comparative study of hepatitis C virus (HCV) markers (core protein, RNA, and virus-specific antibodies) was carried out in plasma samples from 80 donors. A method based on sandwich ELISA with monoclonal antibodies to recombinant protein was developed for measuring core protein. Nucleocapsid protein was detected after various treatments of precipitates obtained after concentration of virus-containing material from plasma samples. These treatments allowed differentiation of core protein in virions, free nucleocapsids, and immune complexes circulating in peripheral blood. The minimal detectable concentration was 5 pg/ml, maximal 850 pg/ml. The detection of core protein virtually coincided with the detection of HCV RNA: 94.4% RNA-positive samples contained the virus protein. Other parameters (activities of antibodies to HCV in ELISA and level of SGPT) did not allow differentiation of plasma samples by the presence of actively replicating virus. Assay of nucleocapsid protein in the plasma of subjects infected with HCV in various populations of virus particles is important from practical (for blood service) and theoretical viewpoints (for studies of virus pathogenesis mechanisms).

[The serodiagnosis of viral hepatitis C]. / Serodiagnostika virusnogo gepatita C.

Sensitivities and specificities of four commercial enzyme immunoassay test systems manufactured by Ortho (USA), Abbott (USA), Organon (Netherlands), Innotest (Belgium) and of three pilot Russian diagnostic agents created at the Mazai Research and Production Amalgamation (Moscow) and the D. I. Ivanovskii Institute of Virology (Moscow) and Pasteur Institute (St. Petersburg) for detection of antibody to hepatitis C have been compared. A high incidence of hepatitis C virus infection was revealed in various Moscow populations: blood and plasma donors, inpatients, and medical staff.

[The diagnosis and prevention of parenterally transmitted viral infections]. / Diagnostika i profilaktika virusnykh infektsii s parenteral'noi peredachei.

The rate of the detection of the antibodies to HIV-1/2, HTLV-1, the markers of hepatitis B and C viruses and cytomegaloviruses in blood and plasma donors and persons with high risk of the infections was studied. A high percentage of the detection of the antibodies to hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) was observed in the donors with increased levels of the serum enzymes, hematological patients, hemodialysis patients and drug addicts. A high rate of the indication of the HB virus markers was also observed in hematological patients and medical personnel of hematological and surgical clinics. At least 1 marker of HB virus was shown to be detected per 45 per cent of the reserve donors. The rate of the detection of anti-HCV in the donors of various regions ranged within 1-3 per cent in the Baltic countries, 2-5 per cent in Russia, 5-7 per cent in the Middle Asia and 8-12 per cent in Moldova. The data on the sensitivity and specificity of two commercial test systems for the detection of the antibodies to hepatitis C virus (Ortho, USA and Organon, Holland) were comparable.

[A retrospective examination of a hepatitis focus in plasma donors]. / Retrospektivnoe obsledovanie ochaga gepatita u donorov plazmy.

Data are presented on the retrospective epidemiological serological investigation of episodes of hepatitis-like diseases among plasma donors in Krasnoyarsk. A mixed structure of the focus was established with prevalence of B- and non-A-, non-B hepatitides. Markers of recent infection with HB virus were recorded in 43.6% of sick donors, at the same time no donors had IgM antibodies to hepatitis A evidencing the acute stage or early convalescence. The use of the insufficiently sensitive passive hemagglutination test for HBsAg identification has resulted in incomplete detection of donors-carriers of HB virus.

[The serodiagnosis of viral hepatitis C and B in different population groups]. / Serodiagnostika virusnykh gepatitov C i B sredi razlichnykh grupp nasea.

Data on the frequency of detection of serological markers of hepatitis C and B viruses using enzyme immunoassay for examinations of blood donors in different regions of the country, of patients with hepatitis of obscure etiology and patients with hemophilia regularly receiving hemostatic therapy are presented. The rate of detection of antibody to hepatitis C (anti-HCV) in reserve donors varied from 2% (Baltic states) to 9.2% (Moldavia), that of the carrier state of HBsAg from 0.3% to 10.3%, respectively. Among patients with hepatitis of obscure etiology, anti-HCV was found in 9-18%. A higher rate of anti-HCV was found in donors with high levels of aminotransferases (18.75%) and in patients with hemophilia (77.6%). Epidemiological serological surveys of group incidence of hepatitis revealed a high portion of incidence of virus hepatitis C (from 50 to 90%).

[Immunodiagnosis of HIV infection in the transfusion service]. / Immunodiagnostika VICh-infektsii v transfuziologicheskoi sluzhbe.

Enzyme immunoassay (EIA) is the basic method of the laboratory diagnosis of HIV-infection used as the first component of donors' screening. The possibility of nonspecific reactions presents a significant shortcoming of this method. An algorithm involving three stages has been elaborated to investigate donors for anti-HIV antibodies and to verify seropositive samples. The first-stage screening is conducted with the use of Soviet test-reagents. Positive samples are assayed again in the Soviet EI-systems based on varying types of sorbed antigens. In case of questionable or positive reactions the sample is assayed in commercial imported test-systems (the second stage). The positive sera are assayed in the immunoblotting test (the third stage). The algorithm suggested provides a reliable control and is worthwhile economically. The causes of nonspecific reactions in EIA have been described.

[Comparative evaluation of the immunoenzyme test systems for HIV-1 and HIV-2 infections]. / Sravnitel'naia otsenka immunofermentnykh test-sistem dlia infektsii VICh-1 i VICh-2.

Comparative investigations of enzyme immunoassay systems for the diagnosis of HIV-infection were conducted in panels with HIV-1 and HIV-2-positive and negative samples. It has been shown that immunodiagnostic reagents produced by the firms "Abbott" (USA) and "Behring" (FRG) possess the highest sensitivity and specificity. It has been established that the test-systems for HIV-1 cannot identify HIV-2-positive samples due to the absence of cross-reactivity. To decrease the risk of HIV transmission through the blood it is recommended that immunodiagnostic tests for both virus types should be conducted in blood donors' screening.

[Serological markers of viral infections and various indicators of immunity in patients with hemophilia]. / Serologicheskie markery virusnykh infektsii i nekotorye pokazateli immuniteta u bol'nykh gemofiliei.

The authors have studied the incidence rate for markers of viruses of AIDS (HIV), hepatitis B (HBV) and cytomegalia (CMV), as well as certain parameters of antiinfectious defense in hemophilia patients. A high incidence rate of HBV and CMV markers was established in the investigated patients, and among them no seropositive subjects, by antibodies to HIV, were detected. In the presence of a low incidence rate of chronic HBsAg-carriership in this category of patients, a significant number of immune subjects was observed, that correlated with a relative stability of such immunity parameters as concentration of serum immunoglobulin G and the level of circulating immune complexes.

[Nonspecific factors for defense of the body against infection in paraproteinemic hemoblastosis]. / Nespetsificheskie faktory protivoinfektsionnoi zashchity organizma pri paraproteinemicheskikh gemoblastozakh.

The nonspecific defense from heterogeneous agents was sharply suppressed in patients with multiple myeloma. It was, probably, connected with the tumor growth, as well as with the influence on the factors studied of varying circumstances attending the tumor growth, such as renal insufficiency, granulocytopenia, thrombocytopenia, circulation of high-molecular pathologic protein in the blood bed, etc. No principal differences have been detected between the character of immunological disorders in multiple myeloma and Waldenström's macroglobulinemia. We can speak of only the degree of these disorders that, evidently, correlates with the aggressiveness of the process.

[The danger of hepatitis B virus infection from transfusions of plasma in which the HBs-antigen was detected retrospectively by highly sensitive methods]. / Opasnost' zarazheniia virusom gepatitia B pri perelivaniiakh plazmy, v kotoroi retrospektivno vysokochuvstvitel'nymi metodami vyiavlen HBs-antigen.

The prospective dynamic laboratory and clinical study of premature children was carried out: 55 children who received plasma transfusion during the first weeks of their life and were retrospectively (i. e. after plasma transfusion) found to have HBsAg detected by the passive hemagglutination (PHA) test, the enzyme immunoassay (EIA) and the radioimmunoassay (RIA) and 127 children who received the transfusion of plasma found to be HBsAg-negative according to the results of EIA and RIA. As revealed in this study, the risk of hepatitis B virus infection in such children after the transfusion of plasma containing HBsAg at low concentrations, determined only in the PHA test or in EIA and RIA, was, respectively, 7.5 and 6.3 times greater than in children receiving plasma found to be HBsAg-negative according to the results of EIA and RIA. The results of this investigation showed the tendency towards a decrease not only in the total contamination of plasma recipients with hepatitis B virus, but also in morbidity rate in icteric forms of acute posttransfusion hepatitis B, depending on the concentration of HBsAg in plasma used for transfusion.

[Perinatal infection with hepatitis B virus and the problem of its specific prevention]. / Perinatal'noe infitsirovanie detei virusom gepatita B i voprosy spetsificheskoi profilaktiki.

The incidence of HBs- and HBe-antigens detection in future mothers was studied in Moscow, Uzbekistan, and Moldavia, and the incidence of hepatitis B (HB) virus transmission from mothers with persisting HBs-antigenemia to their offspring. In reverse passive hemagglutination test, HBsAg was detected in 1.1% of pregnancies in Moscow, in 6.3% of pregnancies in Uzbekistan, and in 5.4% of pregnancies in Moldavia. In these regions, immunofluorescence revealed HBe-antigen in HBsAg carriers in 5.2, 13.9, and 16.3%, respectively. Perinatal infection with HB virus was found in 26.1% of births to HBsAg carriers in Moscow and in 40% in Uzbekistan and Moldavia; in the latter two regions 16.0% and 13.3% of these births were found to become chronic carriers of HBsAg. In the presence of persistence of HBeAg in HSsAg carriers, from 89 to 100% births to these mothers showed the development of durable HBs-antigenemia, while in the presence of anti-HBe such outcome was noted in only 3%. Specific anti-HBs-immunoglobulin administered to infants born to HBsAg carriers exerted a protective effect by reducing the HB virus infection rate in the first 6 months of life, but failed to prevent completely the development of HB virus infection. The necessity of a wide-scale vaccination against HB in order to prevent HB virus infection of neonates is emphasized.

[Indicators of nonspecific immunity in patients with hereditary hemochromatosis]. / Pokazateli nespetsificheskoi zashchity u bo'lnykh nasledstvennym gemokhromatozom.

Parameters of nonspecific defence--complement protein function, circulating immune complex level, neutrophil phagocytic activity, completeness of the phagocytic reaction, C3c level, were evaluated in 162 carriers of hemochromatosis gene (114 homozygotes and 48 heterozygotes with respect to hereditary hemochromatosis) aged from 7 to 64 years. The analysis of the results obtained has permitted a conclusion that the suppression of the complement system function, according to the classic or alternative type, is associated with the disease pathogenesis--hyperferremia, and is caused by the damage of the immunocompetent organs and cells synthesizing individual proteins of the complement, as well as by infectious complications leading to hypocomplementemia with respect to separate components.