CIRCULATING IMMUNE-COMPLEXES IN CHRONIC HEPATITIS RELATED TO HEPATITIS-C AND HEPATITIS-B VIRUSES INFECTION

Circulating immune complexes (CIC) may be involved in tissue damage an d/or viral clearance in viral hepatitis. To assess the frequency of ra ised CIC in chronic hepatitis related to hepatitis B and C, IgM, IgG, and hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) containing CIC were determined , by conglutinin (K) and Clq assays, in 101 patients with chronic hepa titis B alone, 24 patients with chronic hepatitis B and C, 48 patients with chronic hepatitis C alone, and 54 healthy controls. Compared to patients with hepatitis B alone, patients with dual infection had high er frequency of raised IgM-C1q CIC (P < 0.001) and IgM-K CIC (P < 0.01 ). There is no difference in the prevalence of HBsAg-CIC between patie nts with hepatitis B alone and those with dual infection. Among patien ts with chronic hepatitis C alone, conglutinin-binding CIC is the pred ominant type of raised CIC and correlated with more severe liver damag e. In conclusion, CIC may play a role in the pathogenesis of chronic h epatitis C virus infection. (C) 1995 Academic Press, Inc.