A virus isolated in the human-blood leukocyte culture and its interaction with hepatitis С and -G viruses

Electrone-microscopic investigations are indicative of that the cultures of healthy donors, stimulated by phytohemagglutinin (PHA), can be successfully used to study the etiology of parenterally transmitted hepatitis. An electronic-microscopic study of a virus, isolated from the blood serum of a patient with hepatitis on the basis of the PHA-stimulated human leukocyte cultures and named a hepatitis leukocytic virus (HLV), enabled, by using the negative contrasting method, to detect viral particles of the hexagonal shape, sized 50-65 nm, with a coating divided by a 4-5 nm light space. Therefore, the HLV was described as belonging to the Flaviviridae family. RNA of the С hepatitis virus was detected in the К HLV strain stored, for 24 years, at the Museum of the Viruses Research Institute, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, in a lyophilizated bed at -5 °C, however, an attempt to genotype the RNA failed. No RNA donor leukocytes were found in the materials of further passing of HLV by using the PHAstimuiated cultures, which can be explained by an inactivation of HLV at storage. No RNA of the С hepatitis virus was found in the above materials either, however, in 1999, DNA of the TT virus was detected at passing the strain, which indicates that the virus is widely spread in the population of healthy donors, whose lymphocytes are used preparing the blood leukocyte cultures.

virus hepatitis C,G, virus TT, isolates, /hating density, polymerase chain reaction, electrone microscopy