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Renal Manifestations of Hepatitis C Virus Infection: Extremity at a Distance

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 July 2020

D. N. Howell
Affiliation:
Departments of Pathology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC27710, and , V. A. Medical Center, Durham, NC27705
S. E. Miller
Affiliation:
Departments of Microbiology and Pathology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC27710
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Extract

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is an RNA virus of the family Flaviviridae. In the decade since its identification,1 it has emerged as a leading cause of chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis. Easily transmissible by parenteral and sexual routes, fastidious in culture, highly limited in host range, and difficult to detect by most microscopic and immunohistochemical methods, HCV qualifies as an extreme pathogen. Another form of extremity exhibited by HCV is the bewildering array of renal disorders that occur in the setting of HCV-induced hepatitis.

Several different mechanisms may underlie the development of renal disease in patients infected with HCV. Immune complexes of anti-HCV antibodies and viral components, frequently bound to anti-immunoglobulin rheumatoid factors, can form in the circulation and be deposited in the kidney. HCV has also been shown to induce immune responses to a variety of autoantigens, some of which are expressed in the kidney. Hepatic injury caused by HCV may produce downstream effects on other organs, including the kidney.

Type
Microorganisms: The Good, The Bad, The Unusual
Copyright
Copyright © Microscopy Society of America

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References

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