Detection and clinical significance of autoantibodies in patients with chronic hepatitis C in Tianjin

Objective To analyze the positive incidence and clinical significance of autoantibodies in the serum of patients with chronic hepatitis C in Tianjin.Methods 98 HCV patients were included in this study.The liver specific autoantibodies (ANA, ASA, AMA, RF, LKM-I) were detected by indirect immunofluorescence assay.The factors such as age, gender, and HCV replication were compared between the patients with positive and negative autoantibodies.Results Autoantibodies were detected in 32 individuals (at least one of them was positive) , with the positive rate of 32.7%.The positive rate of ANA、RF、AMA 、LC-1 and LKM-1was 26.5%, 8.1%, 2.0%, 1.0% and1.0% respectively.Compared with the autoantibody-negative patients, the factors related to the presence of autoantibody-positive were older age (57.1 vs 46.8) , gender (female vs male 65.6% vs 47.0%) , worsening liver function, immune dysfunction and higher viral replication.Conclusion Autoimmune reactions exist in HCV patients.HCV infection can induce the production of many autoantibodies.The rate of positive autoantibodies is related to the age and HCV replication.Autoantibody may be an important factor in inducing hepatic injury after HCV infection.