title: Autoantibodies in HCV infected patients at Sharkia Governerate, Egypt.
abstract: It is not clear whether HCV induces an autoimmune disease in infected patients or not. The aim of this study is to evaluate some immunological manifestations in chronic heapatitis C patients and to find out its relationship to liver pathology. The study included 109 positive HCV-RNA patients. They were classified according to liver histopathology into three groups: Group I included 22 patients (G1S1), Group II included 67 patients (G2S2) & Group III included 20 patients (G3S3), where G=The degree of necro-inflammatory process & S=Stage of liver fibrosis. All patients were investigated for the presence of: cryo-globulin, anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic (ANCA), anti-liver kidney microsomes (LKM), anti-double stranded DNA, (ds-DNA), anti-nuclear (ANA), anti-mitochondrial (AMA) and anti-smooth muscle (ASMA) auto-antibodies. The following results were obtained: ANCA, LKM, ds-DNA, ANA, ASMA, AMA and cryoglobulin were detected in 83/109 (76.1%), 32/109 (29.4%), 23/109 (21.1%), 38/109 (34.9%), 25/109 (22.9%), 5/109 (4.6%) and 60/109 (55%) of chronic HCV respectively. A highly significant positive correlation was found only between ANCA auto-antibodies and cryoglobulin versus grades of liver cirrhosis. Using ANCA, cryoglobulin, age and gender as covariates and by logistic regression analysis, Odds ratio (OR) revealed that these covariates were significant predictors of cirrhosis that add significance to the model according to the sequence: ANCA, cryoglobulin, age and gender suggesting that these covariates associate significantly with development of cirrhosis in HCV patients and that they are significant predictors of liver cirrhosis in HCV patients. The high prevalence of autoantibodies in chronic HCV patients suggests that HCV may trigger an autoimmune reaction, but most probably do not indicate a distinct autoimmune mechanism. Cryoglobulins and ANCA may be a useful prognostic indicator for increased risk of cirrhosis in chronic HCV patients. Follow up studies are recommended.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt.
authors.forename: Seham
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mahrous
authors.forename: Amal
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mangoud
authors.forename: Mostafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Eissa
authors.forename: Essam
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sabee
authors.forename: Ibrahim
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Amin
authors.forename: Alaa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ismail
authors.forename: Tosson
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Morsy
authors.forename: Afefy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Afefy
authors.forename: Eman
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: el-Shorbagy
authors.forename: Essam
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Nour Eldin
authors.forename: Yousry
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Mostafa
authors.forename: Yousry
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Abouel-Magd
authors.forename: Mahmoud
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: el-Sadawy
authors.forename: Hosnia
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ragab
authors.forename: Mostafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hassan
authors.forename: Khalid
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lakouz
authors.forename: Khalid
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Abdel-Aziz
authors.forename: Mahmoud
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Saber
authors.forename: Gaber
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: el-Hady
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000097:blood*; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000150:complications* / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014766:Viremia
chemical_list: D001323:Autoantibodies; D015415:Biomarkers