Autoantibodies and anti-interferon antibody in patients with chronic viral hepatitis and its clinical significance: a preliminary investigation.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the antoantibodies and anti-interferon antibody in chronic viral hepatitis patients treated with interferon and the relation of the antibodies to the curative effect of interferon.


METHODS
Forty chronic viral hepatitis patients (twenty cases for hepatitis B; twenty patients for hepatitis C) were studied. Indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) was used to measure the autoantibodies. Enzyme immunoassay (EIA) was used to measure the anti-interferon total antibody.


RESULTS
Compared with normal groups, the autoantibodies in patients increased significantly (P < 0.01), and the anti-interferon antibody in chronic hepatitis B and hepatitis C patients had an obvious difference (P < 0.05). As for the curative effect, the presence or absence of autoantibodies did not have a distinct significance in patients treated with alpha-interferon, but the patients with anti-interferon antibody before or after therapy might have a different response to alpha-interferon.


CONCLUSIONS
It was suggested that the presence of autoantibodies was not a contraindication to the use of interferon in patients with chronic viral hepatitis; the clinical significance of anti-interferon antibody should be further studied.
Tong
W
W
Institute of Hepatology, People's Hospital, Beijing Medical University, China.
Zhang
C
C
Feng
B
B
Tao
Q
Q
Wu
J
J
D000906:Antibodies / Q000097:blood*; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000097:blood*; D019694:Hepatitis B, Chronic / Q000276:immunology*; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000276:immunology / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D000906:Antibodies; D001323:Autoantibodies; D016898:Interferon-alpha