Autoanticuerpos tisulares y factor reumatoideo en la infección crónica por virus de la hepatitis C

the aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of tissue autoantibodies and rheumatoid factor (rf) in patients with chronic hepatitis c virus (hcv) infection and their relationship with viral genotype and antiviral treatment. this study included 21 patients infected with hcv and 24 healthy subjects. anti-nuclear (ana), anti-smooth muscle (sma), anti-mitochondrial (ama) and anti-liver-kidney microsomal-1 (lkm-1) autoantibodies were investigated by indirect immunofluorescence technique, and rf by latex agglutination. ana were found in 43% of the patients with hcv infection and 4% of the controls (p<0.05). sma, ama and lkm-1 were absent from both groups (patients and controls). rf was detected in 48% of the patients but none of the controls. the level of serum alanine aminotransferasa enzyme was similar in all the patients' positive or negative results for ana and/ or rf. furthermore, the presence of ana or rf was not associated with viral genotype or antiviral treatment. in conclusion, a high prevalence of ana and rf at low titre can be detected in patients with hcv chronic infection. these autoimmune manifestations are not related with biochemical findings of hepatic injury, nor with genotype or antiviral treatment.