[Detections of hepatitis C virus RNA and NS3 antigen and their relation to liver histopathology].

To detect the distribution of hepatitis C virus and investigate the pathogenesis mechanisms of the viral infection in the liver tissues of the patients with acute or chronic hepatitis C, we examined HCV antigen expression by using the murine monoclonal antibody against HCV C33c peptide in the paraffin-embedded liver tissues from 28 patients with acute or chronic hepatitis C. The NS3 antigen was detected in 85.7% (24/28) of all the biopsy specimens. The distribution and staining density of the antigen immunoreactive signal varied according to different types of patients and the regions in the liver sections, but they obviously had a topographical relationship with the inflammatory-necrosis areas such as fatty and ballooning degeneration and focal necrosis in the liver tissues of nearly all the patients. In addition, the localization of HCV RNA investigated by in situ hybridization assay in 20 liver tissues the above 28 biopsy HD in the Chinese. They also provide valuable data for HD molecular diagnosis, genetic counselling and genetic health.