THE EXTRAHEPATIC SITE OF HEPATITIS C VIRUS: CLINICAL MANIFESTATIONS AND PROGNOSTIC VALUE

The high incidence of recurrent chronic hepatitis C after a course of antiviral therapy determines the urgency of determining the extrahepatic reservoirs of hepatitis C virus (HCV). The most extrahepatic site for the virus is peripheral mononuclear cells (PMC). Assuming that there may be HCV replication in the PMC), these cells can be considered as a potential reservoir of HCV infection. The most common extrahepatic manifestation of HCV is cryoglobulinemia, the genesis of which may be active viral replication in the cells of the immune system. There is evidence that HCV is detectable just in the tissues of the involved organs. Thus, most systemic manifestations may be directly associated with extrahepatic HCV replication.