Prevalence and Clinical Significance of TT Virus Infection in Patients on Maintenance Hemodialysis

Lee, Jun Haeng; Koh, Kwang Cheol; Choi, Moon Seok; Kim, So Jeong; Lee, Yong Wook; Park, Sang Jong; Lim, Yoon Jeong; Do, Jae Hyuk; Lee, Joon Hyeok; Rhee, Poong Lyul; Kim, Jae J; Paik, Seung Woon; Rhee, Jong Chul; Choi, Kyu Wan; Huh, Woo Sung; Oh, Ha Young

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIMS: TT virus (TTV) is a unenveloped, single-stranded and circular DNA virus isolated from the serum of a patient with posttransfusion hepatitis of unknown etiology. We evaluated the prevalence, risk factors, and clinical significance of TTV in patients with chronic renal failure(CCRF) undergoing maintenance hemodialysis (HD).
METHODS
We examined TTV DNA in serum of HD-undergoing patients and healthy controls using the nested polymerase chain reaction.
RESULTS
TTV DNA was detected in 15 (20.0%) of 75 HD-undergoing patients and 10 (13.2%) of 76 healthy controls (p>0.05). The prevalence of TTV did not differ according to the duration of HD or transfusion history of the patients. The prevalence of TTV was higher in IgG anti-HBc positive patients than IgG anti-HBc negative patients (27.5% vs. 4.2%, p=0.03). There was no relationship between TTV infection and liver diseases.
CONCLUSIONS
The prevalence of TTV infection in CRF patients undergoing HD was similar with that of healthy controls. These results suggest that TTV infection may share the route of transmission with HBV infection in adults.