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High Prevalence of Non-Organ-Specific Autoantibodies in Hepatitis C Virus-Infected Cirrhotic Patients from Southern Italy

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Abstract

Non-organ-specific autoantibodies (NOSAs) are frequently found in patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) chronic infection. Genetics is likely involved in the development of autoimmune reactivities, and differences in the prevalence of HCV-related autoantibodies among populations of various geographic areas should be expected. We evaluated the prevalence and the clinical impact of NOSAs in a series of HCV-infected patients from southern Italy. We studied 283 consecutive anti-HCV positive patients (162 men, 121 women, mean age 54.5 ± 13.5 years), 94 of whom were cirrhotics and 189 noncirrhotics. Serum from each patient and from 41 hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)-positive/anti-HCV negative control subjects were tested (dilution 1:40) for autoantibodies by indirect immunofluorescence. Qualitative/quantitative HCV-RNA determinations were also performed. The prevalence of NOSAs was significantly higher in anti-HCV-positive subjects than in HBsAg-positive patients (P < 0.006). Autoantibodies were significantly associated with both cirrhosis (P < 0.0001) and older age (P < 0.05). No significant association between NOSAs and either female gender or virological parameters (HCV-RNA positivity, viral load, and genotype) was found. In conclusion, the autoantibody positivity in HCV-infected patients from southern Italy is significantly related to cirrhosis and older age, although its general prevalence is similar to that reported in populations from the north of the country.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Medicina Interna, Università di Messina, Italy

    Giovanni Squadrito, Marcello Previti, Enrico Pagano Le Rose, Gaia Caccamo, Tea Restuccia, Enrico Di Cesare, Teresa Pollicino & Giovanni Raimondo

  2. Dipartimento di Medicina Interna, Cardiologia ed Epatologia, Università di Bologna, Italy

    Marco Lenzi

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  1. Giovanni Squadrito
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  2. Marcello Previti
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Squadrito, G., Previti, M., Lenzi, M. et al. High Prevalence of Non-Organ-Specific Autoantibodies in Hepatitis C Virus-Infected Cirrhotic Patients from Southern Italy. Dig Dis Sci 48, 349–353 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021991813586

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