ACUTE HEPATITUS C VIRUS INFECTION IN INJECTION DRUG USERS

本子项目是利用由NIH/NCRR资助的中心赠款提供的资源的众多研究子项目之一。子项目和研究者（PI）可能已经从另一个NIH来源获得了主要资金，因此可以在其他CRISP条目中表示。列出的机构是中心的，不一定是研究者的机构。具体目标：1；通过前瞻性观察临床和实验室特征谱、早期感染的病毒动力学、自发清除感染的比例和清除时间，描述街头招募的活跃注射吸毒者急性HCV感染的自然史。2. 表征急性HCV感染中HCV特异性细胞免疫反应的演变，包括HCV表位特异性、前体频率、表型、细胞因子谱、HCV特异性t细胞的增殖和细胞毒性。3. 研究HCV特异性细胞免疫反应的动力学和功能，与病毒学事件并行，比较感染被清除的注射吸毒者与进展为慢性感染的注射吸毒者，以确定成功的HCV免疫反应的特征。

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. Specific Aims: 1. To describe the natural history of acute HCV infection in street-recruited, active IDUs by prospectively observing the spectrum of clinical and laboratory features, the viral kinetics of early infection, the proportion who spontaneously clear infection, and the timing of clearance. 2. To characterize the evolution of HCV-specific cellular immune responses in acute HCV infection, including the HCV epitope specificity, precursor frequency, phenotype, cytokine profile, proliferation and cytotoxicity of HCV-specific T-cells. 3. To study the kinetics and function of HCV-specific cellular immune responses in parallel with the virologic events, comparing IDUs whose infection is cleared with those who progress to chronic infection, to determine the characteristics of a successful immune response to HCV.