Serum autoantibody positivity and its impact on the treatment response of the genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C. Gulcin Sahingoz Erdal 1 , Ibrahim Hatemi 2* , Kadri Atay 2 , Billur Canbakan 2 , Sebati Ozdemir 2 , Murat Tuncer 2 , Abdullah Sonsuz 2 1 Department of Internal Medicine, Cerrahpasa School of Medicine, Istanbul University, Turkey 2 Department of Gastroenterology, Cerrahpasa School of Medicine, Istanbul University, Turkey Abstract Background: Autoantibody positivity is a common finding in chronic hepatitis C infection. The data about the clinical and prognostic significance of the presence of these autoantibodies is still controversial. The aim of this study is to investigate the clinical significance of the presence of autoantibodies on the treatment response of the genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C. Methods: The research relies on the data collected retrospectively through the outpatient clinic files and the hospital’s automation system. A total of 249 Anti-HCV and HCV-RNA positive patients (91 male, 158 female) who were admitted to our outpatient clinic between the years 2010 and 2013, were included in this study. All of the patients in this study had conventional treatment for hepatitis C. Results: A total of 85 patients (64.3%) were anti-nuclear antibody positive. Anti-smooth muscle antibody was detected in 15 patients (9.9%) whereas anti-liver kidney microsomal antibody and anti- microsomal antibody in 1 patient (0.6%). The sustained virological response rate was not statistically different among autoantibody positive and autoantibody negative patients (41% vs. 58%). Conclusion: In conclusion, in this study, we did not detect a negative effect of autoantibody positivity on the sustained virological response obtained by conventional treatment of genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C. Keywords: Hepatitis C, Antibodies, Antinuclear antibody (ANA), Sustained virological response. Accepted on July 2, 2016 Introduction Hepatitis C may be involved in the loss of tolerance to the self- antigens and may start the autoimmunity cascade which can be the cause of many different type of autoimmune diseases detected in chronic hepatitis C (CHC) [1]. Non organ specific autoantibody positivity is common in CHC. Autoantibody positivity is reported in 20-40% of Chronic Hepatitis C (CHC) patients. The most common autoantibody detected in CHC is SMA (anti-smooth muscle antibody). It was reported as high as 66% of the CHC patients. ANA (anti-nuclear antibody) positivity was reported up to in 41%. The least common type is LKM-1 (anti-liver kidney microsomal antibody) reported in 1-11% of CHC patients [2]. In Turkey more than 90% of CHC patients are genotype 1b [3]. The data about the effect of autoantibodies positivity on sustained virological response (SVR) rate in the genotype 1 patients is limited. In a study from Taiwan it was reported that the SVR was not different among ANA positive or ANA negative patients who have genotype 1. The percentage of genotype 1 patients was 36% in this study 4. In another study which reported the negative effect of autoantibody positivity on SVR, the data about the genotype 1 was given combined with genotype [4,5]. In one study it was reported that ANA positivity was more prevalent in genotype 1 patients, but in this study antibody positivity has had no effect on SVR rate [6]. Our aim in this study is to investigate the effect of autoantibody positivity on the sustained virological response rate in patients who had conventional therapy for chronic hepatitis C. Material and Methods We retrospectively reviewed the charts of CHC patients who were regularly coming to the outpatient clinic visits between the years 2010 to 2013. Disease duration, laboratory results, serological findings, abdominal imaging results and results of the autoimmune markers ANA (anti-nuclear antibody), AMA (anti-mitochondrial antibody), ASMA (anti-smooth muscle antibody), anti-LKM (anti-liver kidney microsomal antibody) were recorded from patient files or from the data automation system of our hospital. For autoantibody detection indirect immunofluorescence method was used. Among the patients with CHC, those who had chronic hepatitis B, metabolic liver disease or any autoimmune related disease (systemic lupus erythematosus, Sjogren's syndrome, Hashimato’s thyroiditis, connective tissue diseases) were not included in the study. All patients who had medical treatment for hepatitis C in this study were treated with conventional treatment: Pegylated interferon ISSN 0970-938X www.biomedres.info Biomed Res- India 2017 Volume 28 Issue 2 Biomedical Research 2017; 28 (2): 866-868 866