title: Clinical and biologic importance of F-actin autoantibodies in HCV monoinfected and HCV-HIV coinfected patients.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between serum filamentous (F)-actin antibody titers and severity of hepatitis present in hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected patients. Liver biopsy samples from 18 HCV monoinfected and 20 HCV-HIV coinfected patients were graded with respect to the degree of hepatitis activity and intensity of plasma cell infiltration using MUM-1 and CD138 immunostains. Of the 38 HCV-infected patients, 6 (16%) had F-actin antibody titers in excess of 30 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay units. We found a positive trend between serum F-actin antibody levels and the mean number of plasma cells present in the portal tracts of patients with HCV infection (r = 0.31; P = .06) and a significant association between these factors in HCV-HIV coinfected patients (r = 0.64; P = .002). Our data suggest that elevated serum F-actin antibody titers are commonly encountered in HCV-infected patients and may reflect more active inflammation in liver biopsy samples, similar to autoimmune hepatitis.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ 08903, USA.
authors.forename: Rachel M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Hudacko
authors.forename: Gustavo A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Alvarez
authors.forename: Andrew H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Talal
authors.forename: Ira
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Jacobson
authors.forename: David W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Wan
authors.forename: Xi K
authors.initials: XK
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Rhonda K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Yantiss
mesh_terms: D000199:Actins / Q000276:immunology*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D001324:Autoantigens / Q000276:immunology; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D000199:Actins; D001323:Autoantibodies; D001324:Autoantigens