TTV

History:

In 1997, a novel DNA virus was identified in serum of a Japanese patient (TT) with post-transfusion hepatitis (Nishizawa et al, BBRC 241:92-97, 1997). The virus has little sequence similarity with any known virus, thus it is presently not clear to which family it belongs.

Distribution & Pathogenesis:

Since it's discovery, it has become clear that TTV infection is present worldwide among blood donors and is common in patients with liver disease, including cryptogenic cirrhosis and fulminant hepatic failure. In some studies, TTV DNA has been found more frequently in patients with liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma than in those with chronic hepatitis. However, virus DNA is not integrated in tumour cells, which may suggest that the virus is a passenger rather that causative of the tumour. Further studies are required to determine the role of TTV in the pathogenicity of acute and/or chronic liver disease. Therefore, the significance of TTV infection in liver disease is, at present, analagous to that of HGV.

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