title: Cold activation of complement as a marker of hepatitis C viremia in sera from blood donors.
abstract: Sera from 49,088 blood donors were tested for markers of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and decreased hemolytic activity after they had been stored at 4 degrees C for 24 h, a phenomenon known as the cold activation of complement. Antibody to HCV (anti-HCV) was detected in 315 (0.64%) units, of which 181 (57%) were positive for HCV RNA. The cold activation of complement was detected in 170 (0.35%) units, and HCV RNA was detected in 140 (82%) of them. Thus, the cold activation of complement was observed in 140 (77%) of 181 blood units with HCV RNA. The close association of HCV viremia with the cold activation of complement would be useful as a surrogate test in preventing post-transfusion HCV infection in developing areas where anti-HCV assays are not easily performed.
authors.affiliation: Japanese Red Cross Blood Center, Yamaguchi-Ken, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Itoh
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: J I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Shiga
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hirakawa
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Akahane
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tsuda
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Okamoto
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Miyakawa
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mayumi
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D001782:Blood Donors; D003080:Cold Temperature; D003165:Complement System Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D014766:Viremia / Q000097:blood*