Correlation between salivary anti-HCV antibodies and HCV RNA in saliva and salivary glands of patients with chronic hepatitis C

• Published in: Journal of oral pathology & medicine 2013-03, Vol.42 (3), p.222-228
• Main Authors: Caldeira, Patrícia Carlos, Oliveira e Silva, Karla Rachel, Silva, Tarcília Aparecida, de Mattos Camargo Grossmann, Soraya, Teixeira, Rosângela, Carmo, Maria Auxiliadora Vieira do
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: anti-HCV antibodies; Antibodies; Biological and medical sciences; Dentistry; Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; Female; HCV RNA; Hepacivirus - genetics; Hepacivirus - immunology; Hepatitis C; Hepatitis C Antibodies - analysis; Hepatitis C virus; Hepatitis C, Chronic - genetics; Hepatitis C, Chronic - immunology; Human viral diseases; Humans; Immunoglobulin G - analysis; Infectious diseases; Male; Medical sciences; Otorhinolaryngology. Stomatology; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; RNA; RNA, Viral - analysis; Saliva; Saliva - immunology; Saliva - virology; Salivary gland; salivary glands; Salivary Glands - virology; Statistical analysis; Viral diseases; Viral hepatitis; Virus Shedding
• ISSN: 0904-2512; 1600-0714
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0714.2012.01201.x

Background To investigate the correlation between anti‐hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibodies in saliva and detection of HCV RNA in saliva and salivary glands of patients with chronic hepatitis C. Methods A total of 180 samples of saliva (131 non‐stimulated and 49 stimulated) from 133 patients with chronic hepatitis C were tested by ELISA for presence of anti‐HCV antibodies. Results were compared with the detection of HCV RNA in saliva and salivary glands samples. Pearson's chi‐squared and Fisher's exact tests were performed for statistical analysis. Results Anti‐HCV antibodies could be detected in 47/180 (26.1%) saliva samples. In 11/47 (23.5%) of these, HCV RNA was also detected. From the 133/180 (73.9%) saliva samples with undetectable anti‐HCV antibodies, 49/133 (36.8%) were positive for HCV RNA at least in one saliva sample. From the 64 patients from whom salivary gland samples were available, 17/64 (26.6%) had detectable anti‐HCV antibodies in saliva, from which 2/17 (11.8%) also had HCV RNA in the salivary gland. From the 47/64 (73.4%) cases negative for anti‐HCV antibodies in saliva, 10/47 (21.3%) were positive for HCV RNA in salivary gland. Conclusions Taken together, our results suggest that there is no correlation between the presence of anti‐HCV antibodies in saliva and the detection of HCV RNA in saliva and salivary glands in patients with chronic hepatitis C. Nevertheless, as there was a statistically significant difference between detection of anti‐HCV antibodies and HCV RNA in stimulated saliva, our study points toward the need for new research on mechanisms of HCV shedding in saliva.