Serum Soluble CD14 in Egyptian Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C: Its Relationship to Disease Progression and Response to Treatment

Abstract

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major public health problem. Soluble CD14 (sCD14) level was shown to be associated with HCV infection. In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between sCD14 concentration and disease progression, as well as the response to pegylated interferon/ribavirin (peg-IFN/RBV) therapy in Egyptian patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC). The ELISA technique was used to test 80 patients with CHC and 20 healthy control persons for serum levels of sCD14 (pretreatment and after 12 weeks of treatment). CHC patients were 65 males and 15 females. Normal healthy controls included 20 age- and sex-matched volunteers. The mean age of the CHC patients was 39.94 years, while that of the controls was 39.2 years The serum sCD14 level was significantly higher in chronic HCV-infected patients (3.6±0.18 μg/mL) compared to healthy control subjects (3.1±0.18 μg/mL). The serum sCD14 level was significantly directly correlated with the hepatic fibrosis score (r=0.24, P=0.03), histological activity index (r=0.26, P=0.02), and serum aminotransferases [r=0.28, P=0.005 for alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and r=0.30, P=0.003 for aspartate aminotransferase (AST)]. The pretreatment sCD14 level was not significantly correlated to the treatment response, but it increased after 12 weeks of peg-IFN/RBV therapy and values were significantly higher in nonresponders (P=0.02). The pretreatment sCD14 level cannot predict the treatment response in chronic HCV patients receiving peg-IFN/RBV therapy. However, the serum sCD14 level after 12 weeks of treatment can serve as a negative predictor of treatment response.

Plasma IP-10 Concentrations Correlate Positively with Viraemia and Inversely with CD4 Counts in Untreated HIV Infection

“…Microbial translocation as determined by elevated sCD14 has been linked with increased mortality among HIV-infected individuals [25] and individuals on haemodialysis [27]. Importantly, sCD14 concentrations are also elevated in hepatitis C virus infection [28], tuberculosis [29], inflammatory disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus [30] and in HIV associated accelerated aging [31]. The diversity of conditions in which sCD14 levels are reported elevated perhaps limits the specificity of the biomarker to any of them thereby limiting its utility as a diagnostic or prognostic marker.…”

The proportion of different interleukin‐17‐producing T‐cell subsets is associated with liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis C

“…Much evidence has suggested that elevated plasmatic levels of soluble CD14 (sCD14) are indicative of bacterial translocation . Recent studies have demonstrated a relationship between sCD14 and hepatic disease outcomes in chronically HCV‐infected individuals . In this study, sCD14 concentrations were not only elevated in plasma from naive and therapy failed CHC patients (Fig.…”

“…22 Recent studies have demonstrated a relationship between sCD14 and hepatic disease outcomes in chronically HCV-infected individuals. [23][24][25][26] In this study, sCD14 concentrations were not only elevated in plasma from naive and therapy failed CHC patients (Fig. 5a), but higher levels were detected among those patients with elevated hepatic fibrosis (Fig.…”

“…61,62 Further, sCD14 levels were related to plasma ALT and AST concentrations, and severe liver damage. 26,63 Elevated bacterial translocation in CHC patients is probably the consequence of an inability of Kupffer cells to efficiently clean microbial antigens that reach the liver through the portal vein. 61,63,64…”

T Cell Immunoglobulin Mucin-3 (TIM-3) Expression on Peripheral Blood Lymphocytes in Chronic Hepatitis Virus C Infection

“…Henning et al [28] demonstrate the expansion of CD14+CD16+ monocytes in the circulation and liver of CLD-patients upon disease progression and suggest their functional contribution to the perpetuation of intrahepatic inflammation and profibrogenic HSC activation in liver cirrhosis while Medhat Eman et al 2015 [29] found that The serum sCD14 level was significantly higher in chronic HCV-infected patients compared to healthy control subjects . The serum sCD14 level was significantly directly correlated with the hepatic fibrosis score, histological activity index, and serum aminotransferases.…”