Publication Date:
2008-11-16
Description:
Hepatitis C virus (HCV), being lymphotrophic as well as hepatotrophic, has been reported to induce B-cell proliferative disorders such as mixed cryoglobulinemia and B-cell lymphoma. To investigate the association between HCV and B-cell proliferation, we evaluated the incidence and characteristics of monoclonal B cells in the circulating blood of HCV-infected cases relative to controls with non-HCV hepatic diseases. We first evaluated the surface immunoglobulin κ:λ light-chain ratios of the circulating B (CD19+) cells in 240 HCV-infected cases and 150 controls. Light chain restriction (κ:λ ratio 〉3:1 or 〈 1:2) was detected in 7 cases with HCV (2.9%) (Table 1), but was never detected in the controls (p
Print ISSN:
0006-4971
Electronic ISSN:
1528-0020
Topics:
Biology
,
Medicine