Open AccessHepatitis C: a possible etiology for cryoglobulinaemia type II
Author(s) -
PECHÈREBERTSCHI A.,
PERRIN L.,
SAUSSURE P.,
WIDMANN J. J.,
GIOSTRA E.,
SCHIFFERLI J. A.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
clinical & experimental immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.329
H-Index - 135
eISSN - 1365-2249
pISSN - 0009-9104
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2249.1992.tb06973.x
Subject(s) - hepatitis , serology , cirrhosis , medicine , hepatitis c , immunology , etiology , liver biopsy , hepatitis b , virology , biopsy , antibody , pathology , gastroenterology
SUMMARY Out of 15 successive patients with mixed essential cryoglobulinaemia type II (monoclonal IgM kappa /IgG), 13 had serological evidence for hepatitis C infection as shown by specific enzyme immunoassays and immunoblot. RNA was purified from the serum of seven patients and hepatitis C sequences were identified in five following reverse transcription and DNA amplification. The liver histology showed chronic active hepatitis with or without cirrhosis in the 12 patients with hepatitis C who had a liver biopsy. The two patients without serological evidence of hepatitis C suffered from haematological malignancies. Hepatitis C may be a major etiological agent of cryoglobulinaemia type II.