Hepatitis C Virus Recurrence After Liver Transplantation: Influence of Immunosuppressive Regimens on Viral Load and Liver Histology

Abstract

Cyclosporine has recently been reported to produce in vitro suppression of hepatitis C virus replication driven by blockade of cyclophilins, an effect not shown for tacrolimus. However, the clinical consequence of this in vitro finding have not been well studied in vivo. We compared viral load and fibrosis in transplanted patients receiving monotherapy with tacrolimus or cyclosporine. Patients with recurrent hepatitis C after transplantation were selected from two tertiary centers with the following inclusion criteria: monotherapy with tacrolimus or cyclosporine for more than 12 months before viral load measurement, no antiviral treatment, corticosteroids stopped within 12 months after transplantation. HIV, hepatitis B, and active infection by cytomegalovirus were excluded. Patient characteristics, viral load, and fibrosis were compared by univariate analysis between the cyclosporine and tacrolimus groups. Significant variables, viral load, and fibrosis were included in a multivariate model. Sixty-six patients were included, 46 on tacrolimus and 20 on cyclosporine. Fifty-six were male, and the mean age was 55.3 ± 10.1 years. Fibrosis (Ishak score) was 3.9 ± 1.9 in the cyclosporine group and 2.7 ± 1.9 in the tacrolimus group ( P = .019). Viral load (log 10IU/mL) was 5.8 ± 0.5 and 5.9 ± 0.5, respectively ( P = .7) and time since liver transplantation was 95.3 ± 47.7 and 41.1 ± 16.8 months ( P = .0001). In the multivariate model, viral load ( P = .65) and fibrosis ( P = .24) were not significantly different and only time since transplantation remained significant ( P = .0001). In conclusion, viral load was not different in patients with tacrolimus as compared with cyclosporine, and the lower fibrosis observed in the cyclosporine group lacked significance when considered together with time since liver transplantation.