%0 Journal Article
%T Tissue presentation of human pegivirus infection in liver transplanted recipients.
%A Lankarani KB
%A Yaghobi R
%A Pourkarim MR
%A Moayedi J
%A Mohammadi ZA
%A Thijssen M
%A Geramizadeh B
%A Malekhosseini SA
%A Maharlouei N
%A Shahraki HR
%A Lankarani KB
%A Yaghobi R
%A Pourkarim MR
%A Moayedi J
%A Mohammadi ZA
%A Thijssen M
%A Geramizadeh B
%A Malekhosseini SA
%A Maharlouei N
%A Shahraki HR
%A Lankarani KB
%A Yaghobi R
%A Pourkarim MR
%A Moayedi J
%A Mohammadi ZA
%A Thijssen M
%A Geramizadeh B
%A Malekhosseini SA
%A Maharlouei N
%A Shahraki HR
%J Microb Pathog
%V 167
%N 0
%D Jun 2022
%M 35550845
%F 3.848
%R 10.1016/j.micpath.2022.105571
%X Human pegivirus-1 (HPgV-1) is known for its protective role in HIV co-infected individuals. This immunomodulatory effect raised questions concerning the possible role of HPgV-1 infection and the risk of rejection in liver transplanted patients. We aimed to evaluate the possible protective effect of HPgV-1 on graft outcome of liver transplanted patients. A total of 283 patients were recruited. Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue samples were collected from the explanted liver. HBV-DNA, HCV-RNA, and HPgV-1-RNA were determined using PCR and multiplex RT-PCR assays. The clinical course of patients including the occurrence of acute cellular rejection was compared between HPgV-1-infected vs. uninfected patients. HBV-DNA, HCV-RNA and HPgV-1-RNA were detected in 42.6%, 4.9%, and 7.8% of samples, respectively. None of the HPgV-1-infected patients experienced graft rejection. Group LASSO logistic regression revealed that HPgV-1 infection was the only factor which significantly reduced the odds of graft rejection (OR = 0.5, 95% CI = 0.29-0.89). No significant association was found between the presence of HPgV-1 with HBV and HCV infections. The lack of graft rejection in HPgV-1-infected liver transplanted patients might indicate a possible role of this virus for graft surveillance. Since these are still preliminary findings, prospective studies should further elucidate the role of HPgV-1 in liver transplantation outcomes.