摘要
Mixed cryoglobulinemia(MC)is the extrahepatic manifestation most strictly correlated with hepatitis C virus(HCV)infection;it is a benign autoimmune and lymphoproliferative disorder that evolves to lymphoma in5%-10%of cases.MC is reputed to be a multistep and multifactorial process whose pathogenicity is still poorly understood.It is still unknown why only some chronically infected HCV patients develop MC and only some of these exhibit systemic symptoms(MC syndrome).Several studies have investigated the pathogenetic basis of MC and the most recent ones suggest that the virus is able to trigger such a disorder only in the presence of genetic factors that are still unknown.Here,we try to clarify the complex relationship between HCVrelated MC and the host’s genetic background.The data that we report are heterogeneous and sometimes even conflicting.Therefore,large,multicenter studies are clearly needed.The identification of a characteristic genetic signature of cryoglobulinemic patients would be an important step toward a personalized approach in their clinical care.The new wide-ranging genomics technologies will hopefully help to resolve these complex issues.
Mixed cryoglobulinemia (MC) is the extrahepatic manifestation most strictly correlated with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection; it is a benign autoimmune and lymphoproliferative disorder that evolves to lymphoma in 5%-10% of cases. MC is reputed to be a multistep and multifactorial process whose pathogenicity is still poorly understood. It is still unknown why only some chronically infected HCV patients develop MC and only some of these exhibit systemic symptoms (MC syndrome). Several studies have investigated the pathogenetic basis of MC and the most recent ones suggest that the virus is able to trigger such a disorder only in the presence of genetic factors that are still unknown. Here, we try to clarify the complex relationship between HCV-related MC and the host’s genetic background. The data that we report are heterogeneous and sometimes even conflicting. Therefore, large, multicenter studies are clearly needed. The identification of a characteristic genetic signature of cryoglobulinemic patients would be an important step toward a personalized approach in their clinical care. The new wide-ranging genomics technologies will hopefully help to resolve these complex issues.
基金
Supported by Grants from the"Associazione Italiana per la Ricerca sul Cancro"Investigator Grant,No.1461
‘‘Istituto Toscano Tumori’’
"Fondazione Istituto di Ricerche Virologiche Oretta Bartolomei Corsi"
"Ente Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze"
