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Published on: May 29, 2020
Autoimmunity in hepatitis C virus carriers: involvement of ferritin and prolactin
Gabriel M Sousa1, Rodrigo C Oliveira, Mariana M Pereira
1Programa de Pós-Graduação em Imunologia, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Bahia, Brazil.
Background:
Ferritin and prolactin have been associated with active autoimmune diseases as systemic lupus erythematosus and autoantibody production, but have been little studied in viral infections that present autoimmunity.
Objective:
To investigate the association of these two autoimmune mediators with the presence of cryoglobulinaemia and non-organ-specific autoantibodies (RF, SMA, β2GPI IgA antibody and ANA) in Brazilian individuals chronically infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV).
Methods:
Ninety-nine patients were evaluated. Ferritin and prolactin levels were determined by chemiluminescent immunoassays.
Results:
Hyperprolactinemia was found in 10 (six men and four women) out of 99 (10.1%) hepatitis C patients. Thirty-eight out of 99 (38.4%) HCV carriers had hyperferritinemia (median level 385ng/mL). Neither hyperprolactinemia nor hyperferritinemia was associated with cryoglobulinaemia or non-organ-specific autoantibodies (p>.05). There was an association between hyperprolactinemia and the infection with HCV genotype 3 (p<.01). Ferritin and ALT levels were correlated (p<.05).
Conclusion:
Our results suggest that neither prolactin nor ferritin is involved with the extra-hepatic manifestation of autoimmunity observed in HCV carriers.
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