Cold activation of complement in sera from patients with chronic hepatitis C

部分慢性肝病患者血清在低温保存过程中补体活性下降。慢性乙型和丙型肝炎患者的血清在4ﾟC保存一夜后，测定其溶血活性。在327份慢性丙型肝炎患者血清中，236份(72%)出现补体冷激活引起的溶血活性丧失，56份(17%)出现活性下降，明显高于慢性乙型肝炎患者94份血清中的1份(1%)和13份(14%)。治疗前补体冷激活56例(溶血活性丧失44例，溶血活性下降12例)。冷激活消失了，反应是？其中15人(85%)接受了治疗。其余38例患者持续或波动，仅6例(16%)对干扰素有反应。补体冷激活在干扰素完成后一度消失，在部分无应答者中出现，提示补体冷激活可能与丙型肝炎病毒血症有关，可用于慢性丙型肝炎患者对干扰素应答的监测。

Complement activity in sera from some patients with chronic liver disease decreases during the storage at low temperature. The phenomenon is known as "cold activation of complement".Hemolytic activity was determined in sera from patients with chronic hepatitis B and C after storage at 4ﾟC overnight. The loss of hemolytic activity by cold activation of complement was observed in 236(72%) and decrease of activity in 56(17%) out of 327 sera from patients with chronic hepatitis C,much more frequently than 1(1%) and 13(14%) of 94 sera from patients with chronic hepatitis B.Sixty-seven patients with chronic hepatitis C received lymphoblastoil or recombinant interferon-alpha and followed 6 months after treatment. Before treatment 56 patients of them showed the cold activation of complement (44 showed loss of hemolytic activity, 12 showed decrease of hemolytic activity) . The cold activation disappeared and the response was ? bserved in 15(85%) of them. It persisted or fluctuated in the remaining 38 patients, only 6(16%) of them responded to interferon. The cold activation of complement once disappeared at the completion interferon and reappered in some non-responders.These results suggested that the cold activation of complement would be associated with hepatitis C viremia, and useful in monitoring the response to interferon in patients with chronic hepatitis C.