IgM antibody response to hepatitis C virus in end-stage renal disease

Abstract

22% of ESRD patients with anti-HCV IgG activity showed anti-HCV IgM core antibody in the serum. Anti-HCV IgM activity seems to correlate positively with HCV viraemia in ESRD population. Testing for this antibody may be useful as a serological marker to indicate the presence of ongoing HCV infection.

Diagnostic Workup of Hepatitis C and the Patient on Maintenance Dialysis

“…Despite the attempts of a number of groups to validate IgM anti-HCV antibodies that might help distinguish acute from chronic infection, no reproducible test to this aim has been introduced into clinical practice (42). A strong association between prevalence of anti-HCV IgM core antibody and frequency of HCV viremia in serum of dialysis patients has been noted (43). In addition, a significant relationship between absorbance values of anti-HCV IgM core antibody and NS3, NS5 and core reactivity in RIBA T M HCV 2.0 and 3.0 S I A positive dialysis patients was found (43).…”