Amr Ali Abass Ahmed Hemeda

Amal Ahmed Mohamed, Ramy Karam Aziz, Mohamed Salaheldin-Abdelhakeem

01/04/2021

Complications of hepatitis C virus (HCV) chronic infection cause ~400,000 deaths worldwide annually. One complication, liver fibrosis, is influenced by host genetic factors. Genes influencing fibrosis include immune, metabolic, oxidative stress, and viral entry genes, such as interleukin 10 (IL10), microsomal triglyceride-transfer protein (MTP), superoxide dismutase-2 (SOD2), and apolipoprotein E (APOE)-encoding genes, respectively. Thus, correlating variations in these genes with HCV-induced fibrosis represents an attractive biomarker for the prognosis of fibrosis severity in chronically infected patients. Here, we aimed to test whether polymorphisms in IL10, MTP, SOD2, and APOE genes correlated with the severity of fibrosis induced by HCV genotype 4 (HCV-gt4) in a cohort of chronically infected Egyptian patients. Our results demonstrate a significant association between the severity of fibrosis and specific SNPs in IL-10, SOD2, and ApoE-encoding genes. Haplotype-combination analysis for IL10, MTP, SOD2, and APOE showed statistically significant associations between specific haplotype combinations and fibrosis severity. Identifying biomarkers correlating with the severity of HCV-gt4-induced fibrosis would significantly impact precision prophylaxis and treatment of patients at risk

Amr Ali Abass Ahmed Hemeda

Amal Ahmed Mohamed, Ramy Karam Aziz, Mohamed Salaheldin-Abdelhakeem

01/10/2020

Background: Viral hepatitis is the seventh leading cause of mortality globally, and half of this mortality is attributed to hepatitis C virus (HCV). Egypt has the highest HCV prevalence worldwide, with an estimated 14.7% of the population being HCV-positive. HCV infection is the primary cause of liver fibrosis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Liver fibrosis varies in severity during chronic HCV infection, and 10–20% of chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients with severe fibrosis develop cirrhosis. The goal of this work was to assess the clinico-demographic predictors of severity of HCV-induced fibrosis in a cohort of Egyptian patients. Results: A cohort of Egyptian patients with chronic HCV genotype 4a infection showed significant association between severe fibrosis stages and obesity, represented by a higher body mass index (BMI), low albumin level, high alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) level, low thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) level, and high alkaline phosphatase (ALP) level. Multivariate analysis delineated BMI, TSH, and ALP as independent significant variables that could predict the risk of fibrosis severity in HCV infections. Conclusion: This study argues in favor of using the biomarker profile of CHC patients infected with HCV genotype 4a to identify patients at higher risk of developing severe fibrosis, which is a necessary first step towards precision medicine via patient stratification.