HCV and monoclonal gammopathies.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the prevalence of antibodies against HCV in monoclonal gammopathies with and without cryoglobulinemic activity.


METHODS
201 patients were divided into two groups: (I) 94 patients with monoclonal gammopathies with cryoglobulinemic activity, and (II) 107 with monoclonal gammopathies without cryoglobulinemic activity. Cryoglobulins were characterized by immunofixation; HCVAb were detected using second-generation ELISA and RIBA methods; in 38 cases the presence of HCV in peripheral blood mononuclear cells was evaluated by PCR.


RESULTS
The HCVAb prevalence, as evaluated by RIBA, in Group I was 69.1% while in Group II it was only 14.9%. Histological and immunohistochemical study of the bone marrow in Group I patients frequently showed signs of nodular B-cell clonal expansion.


CONCLUSIONS
Our data confirm the existence of a close correlation between HCV infection and the monoclonal gammopathies with cryoglobulinemic activity. HCV-positive cryoglobulinemic is characterized by self-limiting IgM monoclonal expansion associated with histological aspects of bone marrow lymphoid nodules that do not expand in the course of the disease like classic evolving lymphoproliferative processes.
Mussini
C
C
Dipartimento di Medicina Interna, Università degli Studi di Modena, Italy.
Ghini
M
M
Mascia
M T
MT
Zanni
G
G
Lattuada
I
I
Giovanardi
P
P
Bonacorsi
G
G
Artusi
T
T
D001483:Base Sequence; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000473:pathology; D003449:Cryoglobulinemia / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010265:Paraproteinemias / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis
D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies; D012367:RNA, Viral