Hepatitis C Virus in Neutrophil Granulocyte Progenitor Cells

Neutrophil granulocytes are important components of the innate immune system and pioneers in the fight against both fungal and bacterial infections. If pathogens enter the body, they are marked as foreign by antibodies and the complement system. Afterwards receptors on the neutrophils recognize and bind on these foreign substances to make them harmless. This process is called phagocytosis. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) and neutrophils are rarely associated. The HCV belongs to the Flaviviridae. It is a single-stranded, enveloped RNA virus with a positive polarity, which cause chronic hepatitis C (CHC) in approximately 170 million people worldwide. Subsequently, such an infection leads to liver cirrhosis and carcinoma in a significant proportion of patients. The virus infects mainly hepatocytes, but extrahepatic replication has also been shown. HCV usually enters the cell through receptor-mediated endocytosis (claudin-1, cluster of differentiation (CD)81, occludin and scavenger receptor 1), before it abuses the cell's own infrastructure for the viral protein synthesis.

The aim of this study is to determine neutrophil function in chronic hepatitis C infected patients. Furthermore the investigators want to examine if neutrophils or their precursor cells are infected with HCV and if this leads to their dysfunction.