C3/Ig and Ig/C3 two-component-determined circulating immune complexes (TCIC) in patients with HCV infection.
In the present study, we measured the levels of immunoglobulin (Ig)- and complement 3 (C3)-determined circulating immune complexes (two-component-determined CIC, or TCIC) in hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected patients. TCIC was dissected into C3/Ig-TCIC and Ig/C3-TCIC by a reciprocal use of coating and detecting antibodies. The current study was carried out in 117 infected HCV patients and 252 healthy controls. We found that C3/Ig-TCIC elevation was a common feature in patients with HCV infection. Positive rates and levels of C3/IgG-TCIC and C3/IgM-TCIC were significantly higher in the patients with abnormal alanine aminotransferase (ALT) than patients with normal ALT (70.6% vs. 17.0%, 0.56 OD vs. 0.47 OD and 0.71 OD vs. 0.65 OD, respectively, P<0.001). However, the levels of IgM/C3-TCIC and IgA/C3-TCIC were significantly higher in individuals with HCV infection than in healthy controls, whereas the level of IgG/C3-TCIC was significantly lower in the former group than in the latter group. In summary, our results suggest that IgG and C3 TCIC may play an important role in liver cell injury during the course of HCV infection and may be a hallmark for hepatitis C pathogenesis. Elevated C3/Ig-TCIC, accompanied by decreased Ig/C3-TCIC, forms a peculiar trait in HCV infection. Our findings thus provide new insights into HCV pathogenesis.
The Key Laboratory of Education Ministry for Cell Biology and Tumor Cell Engineering, Department of Biology, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian 361005, PR China.
Sanying
S
Wang
Tianci
T
Yang
Jianying
J
Zhang
Shengxian
S
Xiao
Xuanxian
X
Peng
D000328:Adult; D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood; D000936:Antigen-Antibody Complex / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D003176:Complement C3 / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000276:immunology*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000201:enzymology / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D007132:Immunoglobulin Isotypes / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
D000936:Antigen-Antibody Complex; D003176:Complement C3; D007132:Immunoglobulin Isotypes; D000410:Alanine Transaminase