Induction of IgA and sustained deficiency of cell proliferative response in chronic hepatitis C

Table 1 Demographic characteristics of patients with chronic hepatitis C

Characteristic	Value
Age (yr)
Mean ± SD	48 ± 11
Median (Interquartile range)	49 (39-54)
Race (n/%)
Caucasian	31/91.2
Black	2/5.8
Mixed	1/2.9
Body Mass Index (kg/m2)
Mean ± SD	26.4 ± 4.5
Median (Interquartile range)	26.4 (23.3-28.9)
Gender (n/%)
Female	22/64.7
Male	12/35.3
Possible source of infection (n/%)
Transfusion/surgery	27/79.4
Unknown	7/20.6
Treatment (n/%)
IFN-α + ribavirin	23/67.6
IFN-α	1/2.9
Untreated	10/29.4
Hepatic damage1 (n/%)
Undetermined	9/26.5
Mild	15/44.1
Moderate	7/20.6
Severe	3/8.8
Alcohol consumption (n/%)
Yes	4/11.7
No	30/88.2

¹Necro-inflammatory activity.

Table 2 Reactivity of the main antibody classes against core, E1, HVR-1 and NS3 antigens in sera taken at baseline

Isotypes	Percentage of patients with a positive response against the indicated antigen
	Core	E1	HVR-1	NS3
IgG	91.1	70.8	51.5	88.2
IgM	76.4	78.7	5.8	79.4
IgA	52.9	39.3	12.1	50

Table 3 Reactivity of IgG subclasses against core and NS3 antigens in sera taken at baseline

IgG Subclasses	Percentage of patients with a positive response against the indicated antigen
	Core	NS3
IgG1	85.2	82.3
IgG2	17.6	39.3
IgG3	11.7	12.1
IgG4	48.4	78.7

Table 4 Correlation between demographic variables and aspects of humoral response

	Alcohol consumption	Specific treatment	Hepatic damage1
IgM2	R = -0.53b	R = 0.313	R = 0.107
	P = 0.01	P = 0.071	P = 0.609
IgA	R = -0.402a	R = 0.238	R = 0.422a
	P = 0.019	P = 0.176	P = 0.036
IgG3	R = -0.383a	R = 0.257	R = 0.100
	P = 0.028	P = 0.149	P = 0.635
IgG4	R = -0.717b	R = 0.418a	R = 0.401a
	P = 0.000	P = 0.014	P = 0.047

¹Necro-inflammatory activity;

²IgM positive response to HCV structural antigens;

³IgG positive response to HCV HVR-1 peptide; R = Spearman’s correlation coefficient;

^aSignificant correlation at 0.05 level;

^bSignificant correlation at 0.01 level.