RESUMO
Objective To investigate the clinical significance of serum amyloid A protein in patients with chronic hepatitis C (HCV) infection. Methods Serum amyloid A (SAA) levels were detected by ELISA in 131 patients with HCV infection and 20 normal controls. The expression of SAA-mRNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) was detected by RT-PCR from some blood samples of HCV patients and normal controls. Results The SAA levels in the patients with chronic HCV infection were markedly higher than those in normal controls (t = 17. 14, P < 0. 01 ). The expression of SAA-mRNA detected by RT-PCR was closely correlated with concentrations of SAA measured by ELISA ( r = 0.86, P <0.01 ). No correlation was found between SAA expression and serum HCV RNA titers, as well as between SAA and serum ALT in patients with chronic HCV infection. Conclusion SAA levels are increased in patients with chronic HCV infection, which is not correlated with HCV RNA titers and serum ALT levels.