title: Relating the liver damage with hepatitis C virus polymorphism in core region and human variables in HIV-1-coinfected patients.
abstract: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is the most important cause of chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis and end-stage liver disease leading to liver transplantation worldwide. Chronic infection by HCV causes liver fibrosis, which is accelerated by unknown mechanisms in patients with human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) coinfection. Although the genetic variability of both HCV and HIV has been extensively studied in the context of monoinfections, more limited data is available regarding HCV-HIV coinfection. HCV disease progression among HIV coinfected patients may be influenced not only by demographic, epidemiological and clinical background variables, but also by genetic differences in infecting viruses. To explore this issue, we carried out a study in coinfected patients trying to associate the degree of liver damage to several demographic, clinical, and epidemiological characteristics of the patients, and also to the genetic variability of HCV between patients. For this purpose, we have applied different statistical techniques including the statistical generalized linear model (GLM) framework. The stage of fibrosis was indirectly measured by noninvasive means using the indexes Forns, APRI and FIB-4. HCV genetic variability between patients was estimated by sequencing the core region and by reconstructions of consensus maximum parsimony phylogenetic trees with 50% and 75% bootstrap majority rules. The results showed a direct correlation of the fibrosis biomarkers with the AST/ALT ratio, MoftIDU and with 3a HCV genotype clades, among others.
authors: Institut Universitari d'Investigacions en Ciències de la Salut (IUNICS) i Laboratori de Genètica, Departament de Biologia, Universitat de les Illes Balears, Campus de la UIB, Palma de Mallorca, Illes Balears, Spain.
authors: Marina
authors: M
authors: Matas
authors: Antònia
authors: A
authors: Picornell
authors: Carmen
authors: C
authors: Cifuentes
authors: Antoni
authors: A
authors: Payeras
authors: Antoni
authors: A
authors: Bassa
authors: Francesc
authors: F
authors: Homar
authors: F Xavier
authors: FX
authors: López-Labrador
authors: Andrés
authors: A
authors: Moya
authors: Maria M
authors: MM
authors: Ramon
authors: José A
authors: JA
authors: Castro
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D018450:Disease Progression; D014644:Genetic Variation; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D015497:HIV-1; D006239:Haplotypes; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics*; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology*; D008111:Liver Function Tests; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012367:RNA, Viral
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral