Detection of Anti-GOR Antibodies in HCV Infection

The interactions of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) with the immune system are numerous. As one of the many results, a considerable number of autoantibodies occur in serum. This chapter describes methods to detect anti-GOR antibodies (1 –3 ). Anti-GOR are autoantibodies that are specifically associated with replicating HCV infection Anti-GOR antibodies were first described by Mishiro et al. (1 ). These authors had tried to isolate the HCV from chimpanzees infected with serum from a patient with posttransfusion hepatitis non-A, non-B. Screening a cDNA library prepared from RNA isolated from a chimpanzee that was infected with serum from a hepatitis non-A, non-B patient resulted in the isolation of several cDNA clones. Expressed protein of one of such clones specifically reacted with serum from patients with non-A, non-B posttransfusion hepatitis, which later became known as the HCV. Interestingly, this cDNA clone reacted with the liver of uninfected chimpanzees.