J Pediatr 1988 Oct;113(4):670-6

Lack of correlation between infection with reovirus 3 and extrahepatic biliar
atresia or neonatal hepatitis

Brown WR, Sokol RJ, Levin MJ, Silverman A, Tamaru T, Lilly JR, Hall RJ, Cheney M
Gastroenterology Section, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Denver, CO
80220
Abstract
Infection with reovirus 3 (Reo-3) has been suggested as the cause of
extrahepatic biliary atresia and idiopathic neonatal hepatitis, but confirmation
has been lacking. Therefore we have searched for a specific anti-Reo-3 antibody
response in the sera of patients with biliary atresia or neonatal hepatitis and
for Reo-3 antigens in their hepatobiliary tissues. Sera from 23 infants with
extrahepatic biliary atresia, 12 with neonatal hepatitis, 30 age-matched control
patients with other liver diseases, and 55 control patients without liver
disease were tested by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for total (IgA, IgG,
and IgM) anti-Reo-3 antibodies; sera of infants younger than 6 months of age
were tested also for IgM anti-Reo-3 antibodies alone. There was no difference
between either total or IgM anti-Reo-3 antibody levels in infants with
extrahepatic biliary atresia or neonatal hepatitis and levels in control
infants. Reo-3 antigens were not detected in the hepatobiliary tissues of 19
infants (18 with biliary atresia, one with neonatal hepatitis) by an
immunoperoxidase method that readily demonstrated Reo-3 in control infected
HEp-G2 cells. Our data do not support a relationship between neonatal liver
diseases and infection with Reo-3