This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Ramos-Casals, M. Articles by Font, J. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Ramos-Casals, M. Articles by Font, J. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Mixed cryoglobulinemia: new concepts

Olga Trejo

Mario García-Carrasco

Ricard Cervera

Systemic Autoimmune Diseases Unit, Department of Medicine, Institut d'Investigacions Biomeédiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Hospital Clínic, School of Medicine, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

Josep Font

Systemic Autoimmune Diseases Unit, Department of Medicine, Institut d'Investigacions Biomeédiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Hospital Clínic, School of Medicine, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain; Unitat de Malalties Autoimmmunes Siste émiques, Hospital Clínic, C/Villarroel, 170, 08036-Barcelona, Spain Tel: (+34) 93 2275774; Fax: (+34) 93 2275774; jfont{at}clinic.ub.es

The most documented extrahepatic manifestation of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is mixed cryoglobulinemia (MC). MC is characterised by the presence of temperature-sensitive protein complexes: in type II MC, cryoglobulins are composed of a monoclonal rheumatoid factor (usually, IgMk) against polyclonal IgG. In type III MC, all components are polyclonal. The presence of microheterogeneity and other new types of cryoglobulins is a novel and recent observation. The production of different autoantibodies and circulating immune complexes, including the cryoglobulins, are responsible for systemic vasculitis and various organ damage. In a limited number of MC patients, a malignancy, that is B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma or hepatocellular carcinoma, may also develop. Finally, results of interferon and/or ribavirin treatments in MC patients represent an indirect proof for the pathogenetic link between MC and HVC infection. The discovery of the relation between HCV infection and MC shows the striking association between a viral infection and an autoimmune disease and, thus, a potential link between the systemic autoimmune and lymphoproliferative disorders.

Key Words: mixed cryoglobulinemia • hepatitis C virus • Sjögren's syndrome • lymphoma

Lupus, Vol. 9, No. 2, 83-91 (2000)
DOI: 10.1191/096120300678828127


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				K O Alsaad and A M Herzenberg Distinguishing diabetic nephropathy from other causes of glomerulosclerosis: an update J. Clin. Pathol., January 1, 2007; 60(1): 18 - 26. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. Roccatello, S. Baldovino, D. Rossi, M. Mansouri, C. Naretto, M. Gennaro, R. Cavallo, M. Alpa, P. Costanzo, O. Giachino, et al. Long-term effects of anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody treatment of cryoglobulinaemic glomerulonephritis Nephrol. Dial. Transplant., December 1, 2004; 19(12): 3054 - 3061. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. Taneda, S. Segerer, K. L. Hudkins, Y. Cui, M. Wen, M. Segerer, M. H. Wener, C. G. Khairallah, A. G. Farr, and C. E. Alpers Cryoglobulinemic Glomerulonephritis in Thymic Stromal Lymphopoietin Transgenic Mice Am. J. Pathol., December 1, 2001; 159(6): 2355 - 2369. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]