Serum levels of immunoglobulin free light chains in patients with chronic hepatitis C presenting cryoglobulinemia
Braz. j. infect. dis
; Braz. j. infect. dis;18(6): 638-642, Nov-Dec/2014. tab, graf
Article
de En
| LILACS
| ID: lil-730423
Bibliothèque responsable:
BR1.1
ABSTRACT
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infects B-lymphocytes, provokes cellular dysfunction and causes lymphoproliferative diseases such as cryoglobulinemia and non-Hodgkin's B-cell lymphoma. In the present study, we investigated the serum levels of kappa and lambda free light chains (FLC) of immunoglobulins and the kappa/lambda FLC ratio in Brazilian patients with chronic HCV infection and cryoglobulinemia. We also analyzed the immunochemical composition of the cryoglobulins in these patients. Twenty-eight cryoglobulinemic HCV patients composed the target group, while 37 HCV patients without cryoglobulinemia were included as controls. The median levels of kappa and lambda FLC were higher in patients with cryoglobulinemia compared to controls (p = 0.001 and p = 0.003, respectively), but the kappa/lambda FLC ratio was similar in patients with and without cryoglobulinemia (p > 0.05). The median FLC ratio was higher in HCV patients presenting with advanced fibrosis of the liver compared to HCV patients without fibrosis (p = 0.004). Kappa and lambda FLC levels were strongly correlated with the IgA, IgG and IgM levels in the patients with cryoglobulinemia. In patients without cryoglobulinemia, the kappa FLC level was only correlated with the IgG level, whereas the lambda FLC were weakly correlated with the IgA, IgG and IgM levels. An immunochemical pattern of mixed cryoglobulins (MC), predominantly IgM, IgG, IgA and kappa light chain, was verified in these immune complexes. We concluded that HCV-infected patients presenting cryoglobulinemia have vigorous polyclonal B-lymphocyte activation due to chronic HCV infection and persistent immune stimulation.
Mots clés
Texte intégral:
1
Indice:
LILACS
Sujet Principal:
Cryoglobulines
/
Chaines légères kappa des immunoglobulines
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Chaines lambda des immunoglobulines
/
Hépatite C chronique
/
Cryoglobulinémie
Type d'étude:
Observational_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limites du sujet:
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
langue:
En
Texte intégral:
Braz. j. infect. dis
Thème du journal:
DOENCAS TRANSMISSIVEIS
Année:
2014
Type:
Article