AIM To analyze the association of HCV-RNA with peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC)and to answer the question whether HCV-RNA positivity in PBMC is due to viral replication,METHODS HCV-RNA was monitored in serumand PBMC preparations from 15 patients with chronic HCV infection before, during and after an IFN-α therapy using a nested RT/ PCRtechnique. In a second approach, PBMC from healthy donors were incubated in HCV positive plasma.RESULTS In the IFN-α responding patients,HCV-RNA disappeared first from total RNApreparations of PBMC and then from serum. In contrast, in relapsing patients, HCV-RNAreappeared first in serum and then in PBMC. A quantitative analysis of the HCV-RNAconcentration in serum was performed before and after transition from detectable to nondetectable HCV-RNA in PBMC-RNA and vice versa. When HCV-RNA was detectable in PBMCpreparations, the HCV concentration in serum was significantly higher than the serum HCV-RNA concentration when HCV-RNA in PBMC was not detectable. Furthermore, at no time during the observation period was HCV specific RNA observed in PBMC, if HCV-RNA in serum was under the detection limit. Incubation of PBMCfrom healthy donors with several dilutions of HCV positive plasma for two hours showed a concentration-dependent PCR-positivity for HCV-RNA in reisolated PBMC.CONCLUSION The detectability of HCV-RNA in total RNA from PBMC seems to depend on the HCV concentration in serum. Contamination or passive adsorption by circulating virus could be the reason for detection of HCV-RNA in PBMCpreparations of chronically infected patients.