Adiponectin serum level in chronic hepatitis C infection and therapeutic profile

Hepatic steatosis is commonly seen in the patients with chronic hepatitis C virus(HCV) infection. HCV is closely associated with lipid metabolism,and viral steatosis is more common in genotype 3 infection owing to a direct cytopathic effect of HCV core protein. In non-genotype3 infection,hepatic steatosis is considered largely to be the result of the alterations in host metabolism; metabolic steatosis is primarily linked with HCV genotype 1. A d i p o s e t i s s u e s e c r e t e s d i f f e r e n t h o r m o n e s involved in glucose and lipid metabolisms. It has been demonstrated that adipocytokines are involved in the pathogenesis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease,as the decreased plasma adiponectin levels,a soluble matrix protein expressed by adipoctyes and hepatocyte,are associated with liver steatosis. Various studies have shown that steatosis is strongly correlated negatively with adiponectin in the patients with HCV infection. The role of adiponectin in hepatitis C virus induced steatosis is still not completely understood,but the relationship between adiponectin low levels and liver steatosis is probably due to the ability of adiponectin to protect hepatocytes from triglyceride accumulation by increasing β-oxidation of free fatty acid and thus decreasing de novo free fatty acid production.

Is neutrophil gelatinase associated lipocalin useful in hepatitis C virus infection?

AIM: To evaluate neutrophil gelatinase associated lipocalin(NGAL) in patients infected by hepatitis C virus(HCV) before and during treatment with directly acting antivirals(DAAs).METHODS: NGAL was measured in a group of patients with chronic HCV infection ranked, at baseline, by age, gender, anti-hypertensive therapy, HCV viral load, liver fibrosis stage and, either at baseline or after 1 year, estimated glomerular filtration rate(e GFR). Then, NGAL and e GFR evolutions were monitored in a subgroup of patients who started antiviral therapy with DAAs. Differences of median NGAL levels were evaluated through Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test for nonparametric data. Differences in dichotomous variables were evaluated through χ~2 test. At baseline, a univariate regression analysis was conducted to verify if NGAL values correlated with other quantitative variables [age, fibrosis four(FIB-4), AST to platelet ratio index(APRI), and e GFR]. RESULTS: Overall, 48 patients were enrolled, 8 of them starting HCV treatment. At baseline, statistically significant differences were found in median NGAL values only between patients with e GFR < 60 mL/min vs patients with e GFR ≥ 90 mL/min. Differences in NGAL were not significant among patients ranked by HCV viral load, FIB-4 score and APRI, when patients with NGAL > 118.11 ng/d L were compared with those of NGAL ≤ 118.11 ng/d L, not statistically significant differences were present for age, gender, chronic kidney disease classification and liver fibrosis(P > 0.05). Linear correlation was found between NGAL and both age(P = 0.0475) and e GFR(P = 0.0282) values. Not statistically significant predictions of NGAL at baseline were demonstrated for e GFR evolution 1 year later. Interestingly, in the 8 patients treated with DAAs, median NGAL significantly increased at week 12 compared to baseline(P = 0.0239).CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that NGAL should be further evaluated as an adjunct marker of kidney function in these patients.

Similarities,differences,and possible interactions between hepatitis E and hepatitis C viruses:Relevance for research and clinical practice

Hepatitis E virus(HEV)and hepatitis C virus(HCV)are both RNA viruses with a tropism for liver parenchyma but are also capable of extrahepatic manifestations.Hepatitis E is usually a viral acute fecal-oral transmitted and self-limiting disease presenting with malaise,jaundice,nausea and vomiting.Rarely,HEV causes a chronic infection in immunocompromised persons and severe fulminant hepatitis in pregnant women.Parenteral HCV infection is typically asymptomatic for decades until chronic complications,such as cirrhosis and cancer,occur.Despite being two very different viruses in terms of phylogenetic and clinical presentations,HEV and HCV show many similarities regarding possible transmission through organ transplantation and blood transfusion,pathogenesis(production of antinuclear antibodies and cryoglobulins)and response to treatment with some direct-acting antiviral drugs.Although both HEV and HCV are well studied individually,there is a lack of knowledge about coinfection and its consequences.The aim of this review is to analyze current literature by evaluating original articles and case reports and to hypothesize some interactions that can be useful for research and clinical practice.

Histopathology and immunophenotyping of late onset cutaneous manifestations of COVID-19 in elderly patients: Three case reports

BACKGROUND Several cutaneous manifestations such as urticarial rash,erythematous patches and chilblain-like lesions have been described in young adults with coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)and are present in up to 20%patients,but few reports exist describing histopathological and immunophenotypic characteristics of dermatological lesions in older patients.Our aim was to characterize skin lesions in elderly patients during late stages of COVID-19 from clinical,histological and immunophenotypic perspectives.CASE SUMMARY Three patients,admitted for COVID-19,and who developed cutaneous manifestations underwent skin biopsies.Immunophenotypic analysis for CD20,CD3,CD4 and CD8 was performed on skin biopsies to assess immune cell infiltrates.CD1a was used as a marker of Langerhans cells,and CD31 as a marker of endothelial cells.In the three study patients,cutaneous manifestations were evident in the late-stage of COVID-19(mean time from the first positive severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2)swab to rash onset was 35 d).Skin biopsies showed a similar pattern of T lymphocyte infiltration in all patients.Indeed,a chronic dermatitis with perivascular lymphocytic infiltrate was observed with predominance of CD3+T-cell(CD3+).CONCLUSION Our study confirms previous reports.Histological and immunophenotypic patterns in our patients confirm results described in the two previous reported experiences.This pattern is similar to what is found in some lympho-proliferative disorders.Therefore,since these findings are non-specific,SARS-CoV-2 infection should be suspected.