Search results for "Infectious Hepatitis"
showing 7 items of 7 documents
Predictive factors for sustained virological response after treatment with pegylated interferon α-2a and ribavirin in patients infected with HCV geno…
2014
BackgroundPrevious trials have often defined genotype 2 and 3 patients as an "easy to treat" group and guidelines recommend similar management.AimsThe present study looks for differences between the two genotypes and analyzes predictive factors for SVR.MethodsProspective, community-based cohort study involving 421 physicians throughout Germany. The analysis includes 2,347 patients with untreated chronic HCV genotype 2 (n = 391) and 3 (n = 1,956) infection treated with PEG-IFN α-2a plus ribavirin between August 2007 and July 2012.ResultsWhen compared with genotype 2 patients, those with genotype 3 were younger, had a shorter duration of infection, lower values of total cholesterol, LDL chole…
Role of Human Sec63 in Modulating the Steady-State Levels of Multi-Spanning Membrane Proteins
2012
The Sec61 translocon of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane forms an aqueous pore, allowing polypeptides to be transferred across or integrated into membranes. Protein translocation into the ER can occur co- and posttranslationally. In yeast, posttranslational translocation involves the heptameric translocase complex including its Sec62p and Sec63p subunits. The mammalian ER membrane contains orthologs of yeast Sec62p and Sec63p, but their function is poorly understood. Here, we analyzed the effects of excess and deficit Sec63 on various ER cargoes using human cell culture systems. The overexpression of Sec63 reduces the steady-state levels of viral and cellular multi-spanning membrane …
Serum γ-glutamyl transferase levels, insulin resistance and liver fibrosis in patients with chronic liver diseases.
2012
Background and Aims: Serum levels of γ-glutamyl-transpeptidase(γ-GT) were associated with liver disease severity and metabolic alterations, which in turn are able to affect hepatic damage. In patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C (G1CHC) and chronic hepatitis B (CHB), we assessed the link between liver fibrosis and γ-GT serum levels, and we evaluated if normal or high γ-GT serum levels affect the association between insulin resistance (IR) and severity of liver fibrosis. Methods: 843 consecutive patients with chronic liver disease (CLD)(193 NAFLD, 481 G1CHC, 169 CHB) were evaluated by liver biopsy (Kleiner and Scheuer scores) and clinical and…
Reproductive status is associated with the severity of fibrosis in women with hepatitis C.
2012
Introduction Chronic hepatitis C is the main cause of death in patients with end-stage liver disease. Prognosis depends on the increase of fibrosis, whose progression is twice as rapid in men as in women. Aim of the study was to evaluate the effects of reproductive stage on fibrosis severity in women and to compare these findings with age-matched men. Materials and Methods A retrospective study of 710 consecutive patients with biopsy-proven chronic hepatitis C was conducted, using data from a clinical database of two tertiary Italian care centers. Four age-matched groups of men served as controls. Data about demographics, biochemistry, liver biopsy and ultrasonography were analyzed. Contrib…
Performance of two HCV RNA assays during protease inhibitor-based triple therapy in patients with advanced liver fibrosis and cirrhosis.
2014
Introduction: On-treatment HCV RNA measurements are crucial for the prediction of a sustained virological response (SVR) and to determine treatment futility during protease inhibitor-based triple therapies. In patients with advanced liver disease an accurate risk/benefit calculation based on reliable HCV RNA results can reduce the number of adverse events. However, the different available HCV RNA assays vary in their diagnostic performance. Aim: To investigate the clinical relevance of concordant and discordant results of two HCV RNA assays during triple therapy with boceprevir and telaprevir in patients with advanced liver fibrosis/cirrhosis. Methods: We collected on-treatment samples of 1…
Mutual Antagonism between Circadian Protein Period 2 and Hepatitis C Virus Replication in Hepatocytes
2013
BackgroundHepatitis C virus (HCV) infects approximately 3% of the world population and is the leading cause of liver disease, impacting hepatocyte metabolism, depending on virus genotype. Hepatic metabolic functions show rhythmic fluctuations with 24-h periodicity (circadian), driven by molecular clockworks ticking through translational-transcriptional feedback loops, operated by a set of genes, called clock genes, encoding circadian proteins. Disruption of biologic clocks is implicated in a variety of disorders including fatty liver disease, obesity and diabetes. The relation between HCV replication and the circadian clock is unknown.MethodsWe investigated the relationship between HCV core…
Deficiency of the promyelocytic leukemia protein fosters hepatitis C-associated hepatocarcinogenesis in mice.
2012
Overwhelming lines of epidemiological evidence have indicated that persistent infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major risk for the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We have recently shown that HCV core protein mediates functional inactivation of the promyelocytic leukemia (PML) tumor suppressor pathway. However, the role of PML in HCC development yet remains unclear. To clarify the function of PML in liver carcinogenesis and HCV-associated pathogenesis we crossed PML-deficient mice with HCV transgene (HCV-Tg) expressing mice and treated the resulting animals with DEN/Phenobarbital, an established protocol for liver carcinogenesis. Seven months after treatment, livers …