Effect of directly acting anti-viral agents on immunological imprints in chronic HCV-4a patients: interleukin-10 and vascular endothelial growth factor genes expression level

Abstract

Background Hepatitis C virus infection is a global health challenge with Egypt being one of the highly affected countries. IL-10 has been suggested as a suitable marker to assess necroinflammation and to monitor the progression of liver damage. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a potent angiogenic factor playing a central role in many physiological as well as pathological processes. Several factors can be predictive of the response to treatment and achievement of SVR; some of which are host-related, and others are virus-related. The gene expression of IL-10 and VEGF have multiple effects for treatment response. The aim of the present work was to study the effect of treatment with directly acting agents (DAA) on the expression of VEGF and IL-10 genes in chronic hepatitis C virus-infected Egyptian genotype-4a patients. Twenty-five HCV subjects where evaluated for IL-10 and VEGF gene expression before and after treatment with DAA. Results IL-10 expression was downregulated in 92% of the cases. VEGF expression was heterogeneous showing spreading of values along a wide range with 64% of the cases being downregulated. Conclusion DAAs do not completely reverse the immunological imprints established upon chronic HCV infection.

Hepatitis C Virus and Hepatitis C Virus-Associated Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Egyptian Patients: Driving Disease Progression

“…Supporting our hypothesis, previous studies showed that the circulating VEGF level is correlated with the stage of HCC and the highest VEGF levels are found in patients with metastasis [28,29]. In agreement with our results, previous studies showed an increase in serum level of VEGF in HCV-infected patients [30,31]. The upregulation of VEGF in HCV patients may affect the inflammatory pattern in these patients.…”

“…Compelling with our results, we reported a significant increase in serum NF-кB, a potent proinflammatory cytokinin, in the sera of HCV-infected patients. Supporting our finding, A significant increase in proinflammatory cytokines was noted in HCV-infected patients [31,32]. Furthermore, chronic inflammation during HCV infection is thought to be responsible for HCC development via increased mutation rate in the regenerating hepatocytes [33].…”

“…The upregulation of VEGF in HCV patients may affect the inflammatory pattern in these patients. In this regard, VEGF has been shown to be associated with unregulated hepatic inflammation leading to more cirrhosis progression [31]. In the same line, a study by Nage et al (2021) showed a positive correlation between inflammatory mediators and VEGF in HCV-infected patients that supports the intimate link between the processes of inflammation and angiogenesis.…”

Direct Acting Antivirals Impact on Biochemical, Immunological and Hematological Responses in HCV Infected Patients

“…These results agreed with those published by Freekh et al [59] and Waked et al [60]. In chronic HCV patients, Naga et al [61] examined the impact of DAAs on immunological imprints, including blood cells.…”

Clinical Significance of HLA DPB1 (SNPrs3116996 & SNPRs2071025) Gene Polymorphism in Liver Cirrhosis Development among Egyptian Patients with Chronic HCV Infection

“…One of the main causes of chronic liver disease, which progresses to progressive hepatic fibrosis and eventually cirrhosis and HCC, is chronic HCV infection [2] . The development of oral Direct-Acting Antivirals (DAAs), which directly block the HCV replication cycle and target three key HCV genome regions (NS3/4A protease, NS5A, and NS5B RNA-dependent polymerase) led to a significant advancement in HCV therapy [3] . Raouf et al [4] have documented the impact of numerous variables on the onset and course of disease, including genetic variants, host factors (age, sex, environment, and related medical conditions) and viral factors like viral genotype and viral load.…”