Role of anti-mutated citrullinated vimentin antibodies in chronic hepatitis C patients and its relation to HCV associated arthritis

Aim of the work To determine the frequency of anti-mutated citrullinated vimentin (anti-MCV) antibodies in chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) patients and its relation to HCV associated arthritis. Patients and methods The study included 60 HCV patients and 30 age and sex matched control. Patients were subgrouped according to the presence and absence of associated arthritis. Laboratory investigations were performed and anti-MCV antibodies were measured. Results The age of the patients ranged between 29 and 75 years (mean 57.65 ± 8.49 years) and they were 38 males (63.3%) and 22 females (36.7%) M:F 1.7:1. 32 (53.3%) patients had arthritis while the remaining 28 (46.7%) did not. There was a significantly higher anti-MCV antibody level in the patients (median 250 ug/L; range 175–375 ug/L) compared to the control (p < 0.001). There was no significant difference in the anti-MCV antibodies between HCV patients with and without arthritis (p = 0.15). The HCV patients without arthritis had a significantly higher level of anti-MCV antibody (median 200 ug/L, range 175–375 ug/L) than the control (median 30 ug/L, range 5–15 ug/L) (p < 0.001) and the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.85 (95% CI 0.69–1, p = 0.004). When the cut-off value for anti-MCV antibody was set at 57.5 ug/L, clinical sensitivity was 80% and specificity was 80% between those without arthritis and the control. There was no significant correlation between anti-MCV antibody with various studied parameters in the HCV patients. Conclusion Anti-MCV antibody is significantly increased in HCV patient and has no role in diagnosing HCV-associated arthritis.