Virus Infection In Egyptian Patients Research Articles

Single nucleotide polymorphism of the promotor region of Interleukin-10 gene did not show significant association with spontaneous clearance of hepatitis C virus infection in Egyptian patients

Introduction: Accurate etiologies of spontaneous clearance of HCV infection are hard to be clarified. However, it is proposed that genetically determined interleukin-10 (IL-10) changes play an important function in HCV elimination. Individuals who are homozygous for IL-10 gene promoter region 1082 (G/A; rs1800896) genotype AA have significantly lower levels of plasma IL-10 levels with better capability of spontaneous viral clearance (SVC); while those with GG genotype have two folds greater level of IL-10 than GA or AA persons, leading to diminished capability of SVC. Aims: The study aimed at identifying the IL-10 gene promoter region 1082 (G/A; rs1800896) polymorphism as a possible predictor of SVC of HCV infection in Egyptian patients and its relation with the viral load and the degree of liver injury in chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients. Methods: The study was conducted on two groups; group I which included 100 cases of CHC defined as detectable anti-HCV antibodies and detectable serum HCV RNA for ≥ 6 months and group II which included 50 cases of SVC defined as detectable anti-HCV antibodies for ≥ 6 months and undetectable HCV RNA in two consecutive tests, 3 months apart, without previous antiviral therapies. HCV antibody testing was done using 4th generation enzyme-linked immuno sorbent assay (ELISA) technique. HCV-RNA quantification was done using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique. Detection of IL10 1082 (G/A; rs1800896) polymorphism was done by PCR restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) technique. Complete blood count (CBC); serum albumin, serum bilirubin, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), international normalized ratio (INR), serum creatinine and HBsAg, were done for all participants. Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) class & FIB4 score were calculated. Abdominal ultra-sonography (US) and contrast enhanced computed tomography (CT) of the abdomen were done for all participants. Results: In group I, the age was 53.6±11.2 years old, males represented 51% and females represented 49%. In group II, the age was 52.8±8.6 years old, males represented 48% and females represented 52%. No significant differences were found regarding age and gender (p=0.658, 0.729 respectively). Group I showed significantly higher frequency of hepatomegaly, splenomegaly & liver cirrhosis (p < 0.001) and significantly lower platelet count (PLC) (183.5±61.1 versus 220.3±67.2 ×109/L, p=0.006). Group I showed significantly higher ALT, AST & FIB4 score (p <0.001, 0.002, <0.001 respectively). Group I had median viral load of 555640 IU/mL. Applying Hardy Weinberg (HW) equation, IL10 1082 (G/A; rs1800896) genotypes in both groups were in HW equilibrium (HW p=0.845&0.861 respectively). In Group I, genotype AA represented 72%, AG represented 26% & GG represented 2%, while in Group II, genotype AA represented 62%, AG represented 34% & GG represented 4% ,with insignificant differences between both groups (p=0.272, 0.415 & 0.216 respectively). In Group I, no significant differences regarding HCV RNA load ,CTP class, PLC , FIB4 score ,were found between the three genotypes (p=0.191, 0.086, 0.754,0.829, 0.187 respectively). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that IL10 1082 (G/A; rs1800896) genotypes was not a significant predictor of SVC of HCV infection in Egyptian patients (p=0.216.OR=1.322, 95% CI=0.849-2.058). Conclusion: Single nucleotide polymorphism of the promoter region of the IL-10 gene, 1082 (G/A; rs1800896), did not show significant association with the spontaneous clearance of hepatitis C virus infection in Egyptian patients. In chronic hepatitis C patients, this SNP had no significant association with the serum HCV viral load, CTP class, PLC or FIB4 score.

Study of Serum Pentraxin-3 Level in Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Its Affection by Concomitant Chronic Hepatitis B Virus Infection in Egyptian Patients

Study of Serum Pentraxin-3 Level in Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Its Affection by Concomitant Chronic Hepatitis B Virus Infection in Egyptian Patients

Rheumatological and Immunological Manifestations among a Cohort of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Egyptian Patients

Abstract Background The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a lentivirus (a subgroup of retrovirus) that is able to persist in the form of integrated proviruses in a predominantly CD4 T cell reservoir causing HIV infection and over time acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Objective Detection of frequency and pattern of rheumatological and immunological disorders in HIV infected Egyptian patients. Patients and Methods This study was observational cross sectional study conducted in tertiary hospital of infectious diseases in Giza, Egypt outpatient clinics and inpatient departments. It included one hundred human immune deficiency virus infected Egyptian patients diagnosed according to national AIDS program criteria having an immunological or a musculoskeletal disorder with age of ≥ 18 years. Results Results from our study which revealed a highly significant correlation between both CD4 count, HIV-PCR level and the incidence of oral ulcers. There was only a significant value between HIV-PCR level and the presence of myositis or thromboembolic manifestations. Within our 100 HIV positive patients the mean levels of ESR, CRP and SGOT levels were elevated. There was a weak inverse correlation between the CD4-positive lymphocyte count and ESR. There was a highly significant negative correlation between CD4 count and HIV infection duration ESR, CRP, urea, creatinine, blood urea level, SGOT, SGPT. Also, significant negative correlation between CD4 count and uric acid level. Moreover, there were a highly significant positive correlation between the HIVPCR level and ESR, CRP, serum creatinine level, SGOT and SGPT. There was a high significant negative correlation between the HIV-PCR level and hemoglobin level, platelets count and CD4 count. There was a significant negative correlation between HIV-PCR level and absolute lymphocyte count. Conclusion Rheumatologic manifestations are commonly occurring in HIV positive patients. Raynaud’s phenomenon, oral ulcers, and hepatosplenomegaly are significantly more prevalent in patients under non-HAART. ESR and CRP are significantly higher in patients not receiving HAART. Viral load is significantly higher in patients with non-specific antiviral treatment, while CD4 count is significantly lower in the same patient cohort. There is a significant relation between incidence of oral ulcers with lower CD4 count and higher viral load.

Prevalence of Occult Hepatitis C Virus Infection in Egyptian Patients with Lymphoma: A New Vision.

Occult hepatitis C virus infection (OCI) is the absence of HCV RNA in serum and the presence of actively replicating HCV RNA in hepatocytes and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), as evidenced by the presence of antigenomic negative sense single-stranded RNA. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of OCI in Egyptian lymphoma patients and assess changes in biochemical parameters in patients with confirmed OCI. The current study was conducted on 100 apparently healthy subjects as control group and 100 patients with lymphoma as a case group. HCV RNA was extracted and detected in both plasma and PBMCs using qRT-PCR. Total protein, albumin, ALT, AST, and total and direct bilirubin were measured in serum. OCI was detected in 6% of the patient group. OCI patients had lower levels of total protein and serum albumin and higher ALT and AST compared with lymphoma patients without OCI. Our study revealed that six out of 100 patients with lymphoma disorders had occult HCV infection (6%). Therefore, the possibility of this infection should be considered in patients with lymphoma.

The Effect of Direct Acting Antiviral Therapy for Hepatitis C- Virus Infected Egyptian Patients on Changes in the Parameters of Liver Fibrosis Progression

Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) is a major health care concern worldwide. Egypt shows the highest worldwide HCV prevalence. Fibrosis progression is common in HCV and it is the most important prognostic factor in chronic HCV patients. The aim of this study was to investigate changes in some parameters of liver fibrosis progression after successful HCV eradication by direct acting antiviral (DAA) therapy in Egyptian patients. The study included 100 chronic HCV patients. liver stiffness measurement (LSM) was obtained by Transient elastography (TE) or Fibroscan before starting DAA treatment, after the end of 12 weeks of treatment and after achieving sustained virologic response12 (SVR12). Based on baseline LSM, patients were stratified into F2, F3 and F4 groups (METAVIR), F0-F1 patients were excluded. LSM and laboratory data after the end of treatment and after achieving SVR12 was compared with that baseline values in each fibrosis group. Following DAA treatment, all patients achieved SVR12. Mean baseline LSM dropped from 13.5 to 10.1 (kPa) post SVR12; the maximum change occurred in F2 patients 84.3% versus 84.2%, 43.3% in F3, and F4 patients respectively (p < 0.001). At baseline, 30 patients were in the F4 group; only 11 patients (43.3%) regressed to non-cirrhotic range (<12.5 kPa), while 19 patients (56.7%) were still cirrhotic despite achieving SVR12 (p < 0.001). Patients showed significant improvement in platelets count and decreased ALT enzyme levels after achieving SVR12 (p < 0.001). So, successful eradication of HCV results in significant LSM improvement; the best improvement occurs in F2 and F3 patients.

Evaluation of Serum and Gene Expression of Galectin-4, Interleukin-27, and Complement-7 in Hepatitis C Virus-Infected Egyptian Patients.

Background Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is considered a major global public health problem. Recently, there are great advances in HCV therapy, but there are some limitations that are creating an urgent need for assessment of some cytokines that have a potent antiviral effect in the immune system and anti-inflammatory effects to provide a potential novel immunotherapeutic target in HCV infection. Objective This study was directed to assess the serum levels and gene expression levels of Galectin-4 (LEG4), Interleukin-27 (IL-27), and Complement-7 (C-7) and their correlation with the viral load in HCV infection. Subjects and Methods. This work was conducted on 80 subjects, Group 1 (n = 40) early detected HCV patients and Group 2 (n = 40) healthy controls. LEG4, IL-27, and C-7 were assessed at the protein levels by ELISA, and their gene expression was assessed by RT-qPCR. The viral load was measured by PCR. Results There were significant elevations in the mean levels of gene expression and serum levels of all studied parameters LEG4, IL-27, and C-7 in the HCV group compared to the control group. Significant negative correlations between the viral load and each of the serum proteins and gene expressions of both LEG4 and IL-27 in HCV patients were found. The gene expression levels of LEG4, IL-27, and C-7 were positively correlated with their corresponding serum proteins in HCV patients.Conclusion LEG4 and IL-27 showed significant negative correlations with the viral load, which could be an immune response to the control of the extent of hepatic inflammation, thus creating a potential novel immunotherapeutic approach in HCV infection for further studies or therapeutic clinical trials.

Subclinical hepatitis C virus infection in Egyptian patients with rheumatic diseases: a multi-center study

BackgroundHepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is highly prevalent in Egypt. It was found to be 7.0% in a study done in 2015. There are some studies on the prevalence of HCV in rheumatoid arthritis, but to our knowledge, no previous study was done to detect it in other rheumatologic diseases. This study aims at detecting the prevalence of subclinical HCV infection in Egyptian patients with different rheumatic diseases. In the current study, eight hundred and three patients with different rheumatic diseases collected from five—geographically different—Egyptian rheumatology departments were studied. Patients with known current or previous HCV infection were excluded from the study. Screening for the positive anti-HCV antibodies was done for all patients. Screening for the presence of HCV ribonucleic acid (RNA) was done in patients with positive serology by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction.ResultsIn the studied population, 675 (84.1%) patients were women. The mean age [± SD] was 44.2 [± 12.9] years. Hepatitis C antibody positivity was found in 73 (9.1%) of the patients, while 67 (8.3%) were having positive HCV-RNA quantitative PCR tests. The highest prevalence of seropositive HCV was found in drug-induced vasculitis (DIV) and cryo-vasculitis (100%), while in RA, HCV antibodies and PCR were found to be positive in 9.1% and 8.3% of patients, respectively.ConclusionsDetection of the presence of HCV infection in 9.1 % of the studied middle-aged Egyptian patients with rheumatologic conditions points to the importance of screening for HCV in such population for early detection and intervention especially for those patients that are planned to start biologic therapy.

Polymorphism of programmed death-1 (PD-1) gene in relation to susceptibility and progression of hepatitis B virus infection in Egyptian patients

Polymorphism of programmed death-1 (PD-1) gene in relation to susceptibility and progression of hepatitis B virus infection in Egyptian patients

Fibro-indices versus liver stiffness for prediction of significant fibrosis in hepatitis B virus-infected Egyptian patients; a single-center experience

ABSTRACTBackground: Liver fibrosis assessment is a key factor for disease management in hepatitis B virus (HBV). Several serum biomarkers have been introduced for noninvasive fibrosis assessment. This study aims to evaluate the validity of simple noninvasive indices, namely Fibrosis-4 score (FIB4), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) to Platelet Ratio Index (APRI), Goteborg University Cirrhosis Index (GUCI), and fibrosis index in evaluation of liver fibrosis in chronic HBV.Methods: 226 patients with chronic HBV genotype D were included. FIB4, APRI, GUCI, and fibrosis index were performed. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to predict ≥F2 fibrosis.Results: The mean age of patients was 39.00 years and 72.27% of patients were treatment naïve. Patients with ≥F2 hepatic fibrosis had significantly higher FIB-4 (1.58 ± 1.46 vs. 1.15 ± 1.09), APRI (0.68 ± 0.71 vs. 0.43 ± 0.37), GUCI score (0.75 ± 0.94 vs. 0.42 ± 0.29) and Fibrosis index (2.18 ± 0.84 vs. 1.84 ± 0.69). All studied indices were able to diagnose ≥F2 fibrosis. APRI had the highest area under the ROC (AUROC) of 0.67. Predictivity of all indices was higher in on-treatment vs naive patients.Conclusion: FIB4, APRI, and GUCI scores are acceptable, noninvasive, and cheap simple indices that can be helpful on treatment follow-up of fibrosis regression in the setting of low socioeconomic conditions compared to the relatively expensive fibroscan modality.

Efficacy of 24-week treatment with sofosbuvir/daclatasvir/ribavirin in chronic hepatitis C virus-infected Egyptian patients with previous sofosbuvir-based treatment failure

Background Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a globally prevalent pathogen and a common leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Egypt has the highest HCV prevalence worldwide, with more than 14.7% of the Egyptian adults having been exposed to the virus. Aim To evaluate the efficacy of 24-week treatment with sofosbuvir (SOF)/daclatasvir/ribavirin in chronic HCV-infected Egyptian patients with previous SOF-based treatment failure. Patients and methods This cohort study was conducted on 247 patients with chronic hepatitis C infection. They all relapsed on SOF-based treatment regimens. Their ages ranged between 22 and 72 years. They were divided according to FIB-4 results into two groups: group I included 132 cirrhotic patients, and group II included 115 noncirrhotic patients. All patients were followed for 24 weeks with liver function tests, complete blood count, and international normalized ratio, and then along with PCR at 4 and 12 weeks after treatment, with recording of adverse events. Results Sustained virologic response (SVR) was achieved in 96% of patients. There was a significant improvement of platelet counts, alanine aminotransferase, and aspartate aminotransferase, causing significant improvement in FIB-4 (points from &lt;1.45 to 3.25), APRI score (points from &lt;0.5 to &gt;2), and LOK index (fractions from &lt;0.2 to &gt;0.5), where all significantly declined at SVR 4 and 12. Anemia and hyperbilirubinemia were the most commonly reported adverse events. Conclusion The combination of SOF plus daclatasvir with ribavirin for 24 weeks has favorable outcomes with high SVR rates and safety profile in treatment of chronic HCV-infected Egyptian patients who relapsed on SOF-based regimens.

Assessment of the role of interleukin 17A and interleukin 17F in chronic hepatitis C virus infection in Egyptian patients

Background/purposeof the study Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is considered one of the major health problems. About 170 million patients were infected with HCV worldwide. Till few years, Egypt was considered the highest HCV prevalent country worldwide, with predominant genotype number 4. The host immunity plays a major role in HCV infection with evolving data confirming the role of T-helper 17 cells in the formation of chronic HCV infection. The aim of our work was to determine the role of interleukins 17A (IL17A), 17F (IL17F) in the formation of chronic hepatitis C infection.Patients and methodsWe classify the patients into two groups: the first group included 51 chronic HCV patients who did not take antiviral therapy (the study group) and the second group included 51 healthy blood donors (as a control group). The levels of IL17A and IL17F in the serum of both groups were measured using the sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method.ResultsThe serum values of IL17A were higher in patients with chronic HCV than the other group with the mean values being 52.9±32.6 pg/ml in the patient group and 17.1 ±10.4 pg/ml in the control group. IL17F was slightly higher in the HCV patient group than the control group, but it was statistically insignificant. Moreover, there were significant positive correlations between IL17A and alanine aminotransferase, viral load, and degree of liver fibrosis.ConclusionPatients with chronic HCV infections had a higher serum level of IL17A than the normal persons and it is positively correlated with alanine aminotransferase, viral load, and degree of liver fibrosis. This suggests its pivotal role in the formation of chronic HCV infection; so, it can be used as a new marker for disease progression due to its positive correlation with the severity of liver injury.

185P - Role of Tie2, CD14, angiopoietin as angiogenetic markers in hepatocellular carcinoma complicating hepatitis C virus infection in Egyptian patients

185P - Role of Tie2, CD14, angiopoietin as angiogenetic markers in hepatocellular carcinoma complicating hepatitis C virus infection in Egyptian patients

Evaluation of Serum Level of IL-6 in Chronic Hepatitis C Virus Infected Egyptian Patients

Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a worldwide public health problem. The highest prevalence is in Egypt and constitute about 10-20% of the general population. IL-6 is a plieotropic cytokine that plays a role in the acute phase response; it is released from various cells, such as, Leukocytes, fibroblasts, macrophages and endothelia cells. IL-6 is produced by kupffer cells in the liver and leads to production of the acute phase proteins. Aims: This study was conducted to evaluate serum level of IL-6 as a marker of liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis C virus infected Egyptian patients and to assess its correlation with the stages of liver fibrosis. Methods: A case control study was conducted on 40 Egyptian patients with chronic HCV infection (group1). Studied patients were divided according to the stage of fibrosis assessed by fibroscan into two sub-groups: Group Ia: 22 Patients with early fibrosis (F0, F1, F2) and Group Ib: 18 Patients with late fibrosis (F3, F4) compared to age matched 40 healthy controls (group 11). Routine laboratory investigations, Hepatitis markers including (HBsAg), HCV antibody and HCV RNA by real time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and, serum Interleukin-6 and Abdominal ultrasonography were done for all studied groups and assessment of liver fibrosis by APRI score & FIB-4for patients and control but Fibro scan for patients only. Results: There were highly significant Elevation of serum level of IL-6 in group1 when compared to the control and This elevation was more significant in (group Ib) when compared to (group Ia) and There was highly significant positive correlation between serum IL-6 and each of serum ALT, AST and Fibro scan in group 1. Conclusion: The study concluded that a highly significant elevation of serum level of IL-6 in chronic HCV Egyptian patients and there was a highly significant positive correlation between IL-6 and stages of liver fibrosis assessed by fibroscan.

The Role of Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 5 and Transforming Growth Factor-β1 in Hepatic Fibrosis Induced by Chronic Hepatitis C Virus Infection in Egyptian Patients

Objective: To investigate the possible role of signal transducer and activator of transcription 5 (STAT5) in the pathogenesis of liver fibrosis in Egyptian patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) virus infection and its relation to hepatic stellate cells (HSC). Subjects and Methods: Sixty-five patients (46 males and 19 females) were divided into 4 groups based on the severity of fibrosis as detected by Fibroscan as follows: F1, n = 15; F2, n = 21; F3, n = 13; and F4, n = 16. Twenty age- and gender-matched healthy persons volunteered as controls. The serum levels of STAT5, TGF-β₁, α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), fasting blood sugar, and fasting insulin, as well as homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), were determined and compared for all groups. The usefulness of the studied serum biomarkers for predicting liver fibrosis was evaluated using a receiver operating characteristic curve. Results: Serum levels of STAT5 were significantly lower in patients compared to controls (9.69 ± 5.62 vs. 14.73 ± 6.52, p ≤ 0.001); on the contrary, TGF-β₁, α-SMA, and HOMA-IR were significantly higher in patients compared to controls (mean: 1,796.04 vs. 1,636.94; 14.94 vs. 8.1; and 7.91 vs. 4.18; p ≤ 0.01 and 0.001, respectively). TGF-β₁ and α-SMA showed a progressive increase with advancing severity of hepatic fibrosis (mean TGF-β₁: 2,058.4 in F1-F2 and 1,583.8 in F3-F4, p ≤ 0.04; mean α-SMA: 13.59 in F1-F2 and 16.62 in F3-F4, p ≤ 0.05). STAT5 had a significant negative correlation with TGF-β₁ (p ≤ 0.001), while no correlation was detected with α-SMA (p ≤ 0.8). Conclusions: STAT5 may play a significant role in hepatic fibrogenesis through the induction of TGF-β₁ but not through the activation of hepatic stellate cells.

Association of interferon gamma gene polymorphism and susceptibility to hepatitis C virus infection in Egyptian patients: A multicenter, family‐based study

Background and AimPolymorphisms in some genes may influence the persistence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, clinical outcome, HCV replication, and liver damage. This study was conducted to investigate the role of the interferon gamma (IFN‐γ) gene at (+874 T/A, −764 G/C, −179 C/A) single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and its receptor (IFN‐γR2) at (rs 2786067 A/C) SNP in the susceptibility of Egyptian families to HCV infection with high‐resolution techniques.MethodsIn total, 517 Egyptian families, with 2246 subjects, were recruited to this study from the Upper and Lower Egypt governorates and were classified into three groups: 1034 patients with chronic hepatitis C virus, 108 subjects with spontaneous virus clearance (SVC), and 1104 subjects as a healthy control group. All subjects were genotyped for (+874 T/A, rs2430561, −764 G/C, rs2069707, −179 C/A, rs2069709, and rs 27860067, A/C) SNPs of the IFN‐γ gene using the allelic discrimination real‐time polymerase chain reaction technique and were confirmed using sequence‐based typing.ResultsThe carriage of T allele of (+874) IFN‐γ is a risky allele and was significantly higher in chronic hepatitis C more than other two groups (odds ratio [OR]: 2.6646, P < 0.0002). On the other hand, the C allele of (−764, rs2069707) is a protective allele and was higher in SVC than the other two groups (OR: 0.2709, P < 0.0001). However, both (−179 C/A, rs 2069709) and (rs 27860067, A/C) SNPs are not polymorphic enough to be studied in the Egyptian population.ConclusionsHCV infection is associated with the T allele of (+874 rs2430561), while SVC of HCV is associated with the C allele of (−764, rs2069707) of the IFN‐γ gene.

Role of ApoB-516C/T promoter gene polymorphism in the risk of Hepatitis C virus infection in Egyptian patients and in gender susceptibility.

At least 1 in 10 of the Egyptian population aged 15-59 is burdened with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, stamping Egypt the highest country harboring HCV worldwide. Considerable evidence supported the involvement of host genetic factors in the pathogenesis of HCV and the possibility of implementation in target therapies. ApoB gene polymorphisms are postulated to affect the susceptibility of HCV infection. Hence, we aimed to evaluate the relationship between ApoB-516C/T promoter gene polymorphism and HCV infection in a cohort of Egyptian patients and to explore whether higher levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) might compete with lipoviral particles (LVP) in the binding to LDL receptor (LDLR), thus escaping infection. Ninety-seven HCV patients and 96 matched controls were enrolled in this study. We genotyped ApoB-516C/T using PCR-RFLP method. ApoB concentrations were measured by immunoturbidimetric assay. The genotype and the allele frequencies of ApoB-516C/T promoter gene polymorphism in cases were statistically insignificant compared with healthy individuals (P = 0.109, 0.125, respectively). Sex stratification showed significantly lower counts of C/T genotype in female patients compared with female controls (P = 0.011, OR = 0.132, 95% CI = 0.026-0.657). Significantly higher levels of LDL and ApoB were detected in the control group (P < 0.001). This study shows that the ApoB-516C/T promoter gene polymorphism has no impact on the risk of HCV infection. However, the C/T genotype may be a protective factor for our female cohort. Further studies with larger samples are needed to verify this genetic gender diversity. Additionally, high levels of LDL and ApoB might prevent HCV infection.

Interleukin-10.rs1800896 and Interleukin-18.rs1946518 gene polymorphisms could not predict the outcome of hepatitis C virus infection in Egyptian patients treated with pegylated interferon plus ribavirin.

A single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the interleukin (IL)-28B gene was used as a major predictor of the response to treatment in patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Data examining the role of IL-10 and IL-18 gene polymorphisms among HCV genotype 4 (G4)-infected Egyptians in response to pegylated interferon (PEG-IFN) plus ribavirin (RBV) therapy are limited. This study investigated the impact of SNP at IL-10.rs1800896 (at position -1082) and IL-18.rs1946518 genes (at position -607) on the response to PEG-IFN/RBV therapy in HCV-infected Egyptians. This study was carried out on 100 HCV patients treated with PEG-IFN plus RBV and 100 healthy controls. The HCV patients included 50 treatment non-responders (NR) and 50 subjects with sustained virologic response (SVR). Genomic DNA from venous blood of subjects was extracted and IL-10.rs1800896 and IL-18.rs1946518 genotypes were determined using allele-specific amplification and SYBR Green real-time PCR. Linkage disequilibrium between the two SNPs was estimated using Haploview software. The frequency of the IL-10.rs1800896 AA, AG and GG genotypes among non-responders were 16%, 70% and 14% while among SVR subjects, the frequency was 34%, 60% and 6%, respectively (p=0.073). On the other hand, the frequency of the IL-18.rs1946518 AA, AC and CC genotypes among non-responders was 14%, 50% and 36%, respectively, while among responders, these frequencies were 28%, 44% and 28%, (p=0.220). Both markers were in linkage equilibrium (D' = 0.23; r (2) = 0.052). SNPs in the IL-10.rs1800896 and IL-18.rs1946518 genes could not predict the outcome of HCV infection in Egyptians treated with PEG-IFN/RBV.

Assessment of the role of interleukin 17A and interleukin 17F in chronic hepatitis C virus infection in Egyptian patients

Assessment of the role of interleukin 17A and interleukin 17F in chronic hepatitis C virus infection in Egyptian patients

The Role of Circulating MicroRNAs as Markers of Disease Progression in Hepatitis C Virus Infected Egyptian Patients

Background: The discovery of miRNAs circulating in the peripheral blood has opened new directions of research to identify new non-invasive markers for diagnosis of diseases. Aim: The aim of the study was to evaluate the expression levels of circulating plasma miRNAs (miRNA-21 & miRNA-122) in Egyptian patients with chronic uncomplicated and complicated HCV. Patients & Methods: This study was conducted on 60 Chronic HCV infected patients. Patients were divided into three groups (20 patients each): uncomplicated HCV, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). All patients were subjected to laboratory investigations including complete blood picture, liver function tests. Expression levels of miRNA-21 and -122 in plasma using RT-PCR were determined. Results: MiRNA-21 showed significant fold increase in chronic uncomplicated HCV while significant fold decrease in cirrhotic and HCC groups (P = 0.036). On the other hand, miRNA-122 showed significant fold elevation in both chronic uncomplicated and cirrhotic groups and significant fold decrease in HCC group (P = 0.005). ROC curve analysis for miRNA-122 yielded 68.4% sensitivity and 100% specificity for the differentiation of HCC patients from non-HCC at a cutoff 0.184. Neither miRNA-21 nor miRNA-122 was a successful predictor for HCC diagnosis. Conclusion: MiRNA-122 can be used as novel non-invasive biomarker for monitoring HCV related disease progression.

Assessment of the nutritional status and serum leptin level of hepatitis C virus-infected Egyptian patients with and without schistosomal hepatic periportal fibrosis

Background Schistosomiasis has been a major public health problem in Egypt. Moreover, Egypt has been widely regarded as having the highest recorded prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in the world. Malnutrition is prevalent in all forms of liver disease. Objective The aim of the work was to assess the nutritional status of HCV-infected patients with and without schistosomal hepatic periportal fibrosis. Patients and methods This study was carried out on 93 men. A total sample size of 93 patients was taken. The patients were divided into three groups of 31 each: group I included 31 patients having HCV; group II included 31 patients having mixed schistosomal hepatic periportal fibrosis and HCV; and group III included 31 healthy controls. Serum leptin was measured. Abdominal ultrasonography was performed to all participants to detect the degree of fibrosis according to the WHO scoring system. Nutritional assessment was carried out using anthropometric measurements. Body fat content was measured using bioelectrical impedance analysis. Results This study showed that the fat content was higher in group I than in group II and was higher in controls than in patients. Serum leptin level was significantly higher in group II than in group I. Conclusion Affection with HCV and/or schistosomal hepatic periportal fibrosis affects the nutritional status of the individuals affected, with more pronounced nutritional derangement in patients with both diseases.