Severe Liver Fibrosis and Association with Plasma Inflammatory Biomarkers among HIV/HCV Co-infected Patients in China :a Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background: Immune dysregulation among HIV/HCV co-infected patients with impaired liver function is common. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the association of liver fibrosis with microbial translocation and related inflammation among HIV/HCV co-infected patients. Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 343 HIV/HCV co-infected patients who received cART. All patients had current blood biochemical testing data. We measured sCD14 and 27 serum cytokines concentrations using the Hycult Biotech sCD14 ELISA kit and Bio-plex Human Cytokine 27-plex Assay, respectively. We compared the concentrations of each marker between severe liver fibrosis and mild liver fibrosis. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs) for the association of each marker with severe liver fibrosis were estimated using logistic regression. Results: Of the 343 HIV/HCV coinfect-ed patients enrolled, 188 (54.8%) had severe liver fibrosis (FIB-4 >3.25). Patients with higher FIB-4 score (>3.25vs. ≤3.25) had higher plasma level of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-7, IL-9, IL-12, IL-15, IL-17, GM-CSF, IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-4, IL-10, IL-13, BasicFGF and MCP-1. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that increased plasma level of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-7, IL-12, IL-17, GM- CSF, IFN-γ, IL-4, IL -10, MCP-1, Eotaxin, BasicFGF and sCD14 were linked to severe liver fibrosis in our study. Conclusions: Severe liver fibrosis are associated with increased microbial translocation plasma inflammatory biomarkers among HIV/HCV co-infected patients.