INTRAHEPATIC HEPATITIS C REPLICATION IN PATIENTS WITH AND WITHOUT HIV INFECTION

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This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. HCV-infected individuals who are co-infected with HIV have a significantly increased risk of cirrhosis and liver failure when compared to those who are HIV-negative. Furthermore, severe HIV-related immunodeficiency appears to be an independent predictor of advanced liver disease. We hypothesize that immunodeficiency is associated with enhanced HCV replication, and that increased HCV replication is in part responsible for the advanced liver disease seen in co-infected patients. In order to test these hypotheses, we will utilize a novel, strand-specific in situ hybridization assay for HCV RNA in liver tissue from a well-characterized cohort of HCV-infected subjects with and without HIV co-infection.