Severe hyperbilirubinemia and acute renal failure associated with hepatitis E in a patient whose glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase levels were normal

Viral Biology and Immune Privilege in the Development of Extrahepatic Manifestations During Hepatitis E Virus Infection

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) exhibits tropism toward hepatocytes and thus affects the liver; however, HEV may also affect other tissues, including the heart, kidneys, intestines, testicles, and central nervous system. To date, the pathophysiological links between HEV infection and extrahepatic manifestations have not yet been established. Considering that HEV infects multiple types of cells, the direct effects of virus replication in peripheral tissues represent a plausible explanation for extrahepatic manifestations. In addition, since the immune response is crucial in the development of the disease, the immune characteristics of affected tissues should be revisited to identify commonalities explaining the effects of the virus. This review summarizes the most recent advances in understanding the virus biology and immune-privileged status of specific tissues as major elements for HEV replication in diverse organs. These discoveries may open avenues to explain the multiple extrahepatic manifestations associated with HEV infection and ultimately to design effective strategies for infection control.

Evidence of a Link between Hepatitis E Virus Exposure and Glomerulonephritis Development

Viruses can trigger glomerulonephritis (GN) development. Hepatitis viruses, especially Hepatitis C virus and Hepatitis B viruses, are examples of the viruses that trigger GN initiation or progression. However, the proof of a correlation between GN and Hepatitis E virus infection is not clear. Some studies confirmed the development of GN during acute or chronic HEV infections, mainly caused by genotype 3. While others reported that there is no relation between HEV exposure and GN development. A recent study showed that a reduced glomerular filtration rate was developed in 16% of acute HEV genotype 1 (HEV-1) infections that returned to normal during recovery. HEV-1 is endemic in Egypt with a high seroprevalence among villagers and pregnant women. There is no available data about a link between HEV and GN in Egypt.

METHODS

GN patients (n = 43) and matched healthy subjects (n = 36) enrolled in Assiut University hospitals were included in this study. Blood samples were screened for hepatotropic pathogens. Tests for HEV markers such as HEV RNA and anti-HEV antibodies (IgM and IgG) were performed. Laboratory parameters were compared in HEV-seropositive and HEV-seronegative GN patients.

RESULTS

Anti-HEV IgG was detected in 26 (60.5%) out of 43 GN patients. HEV seroprevalence was significantly higher in GN than in healthy controls, suggesting that HEV exposure is a risk factor for GN development. None of the GN patients nor the healthy subjects were positive for anti-HEV IgM or HEV RNA. There was no significant difference between seropositive and seronegative GN patients in terms of age, gender, albumin, kidney function profiles, or liver transaminases. However, anti-HEV IgG positive GN patients had higher bilirubin levels than anti-HEV IgG negative GN patients. HEV-seropositive GN patients had a significantly elevated AST level compared to HEV-seropositive healthy subjects.

CONCLUSION

exposure to HEV infection could be complicated by the development of GN.

Acute Kidney Injury as a Rare Complication of Acute Hepatitis E in a Child; A Case Report

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection is a significant public health problem, which infects 20 million individuals every year. The clinical presentation of acute HEV infection is similar to hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection, and few affected children may progress to develop acute liver failure. Extrahepatic manifestations involving other systems have been reported with acute and chronic HEV genotype 3 infections both in adults and children. Herein we report acute kidney injury as a rare complication of acute hepatitis E in a child who recovered with a medical line of management.

Hepatitis E virus: Infection beyond the liver?

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infections are not limited to the liver but may also affect other organs. Several diseases, including Guillain-Barré syndrome, neuralgic amyotrophy, glomerulonephritis, cryoglobulinemia, pancreatitis, lymphoma, thrombopenia, meningitis, thyroiditis and myocarditis have been observed in the context of hepatitis E. To date, the definite pathophysiological links between HEV and extrahepatic manifestations are not yet established. However, it is suggested that HEV infection might be causative based on serological studies, case series, in vitro data and animal models. In particular, neuronal and renal diseases as well as pancreatitis seem to be caused by HEV, while a causative relationship between HEV and other diseases is more doubtful. Either direct cytopathic tissue damage by extrahepatic replication, or immunological processes induced by an overwhelming host immune response, are possible origins of HEV-associated extrahepatic manifestations. Hepatologists should be aware of the possibility that acute or chronically HEV-infected patients could develop extrahepatic manifestations. Neurologists, nephrologists, rheumatologists and other groups of physicians should consider HEV infection as a potential differential diagnosis when observing one of the diseases described in this review. Ribavirin and steroids have been used in small groups of patients with extrahepatic manifestations of HEV, but the efficacy of these drugs still needs to be verified by large, multicenter studies. This article comprehensively reviews the published literature regarding HEV and extrahepatic manifestations. We discuss the probability of specific extrahepatic diseases being caused by previous or ongoing HEV infection, and summarize the published knowledge about antiviral treatment in extrahepatic disorders.

Extra-hepatic manifestations associated with hepatitis E virus infection: a comprehensive review of the literature

Background and aims: Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection is a significant public health problem that afflicts almost 20 million individuals annually and causes acute liver injury in 3.5 million, with approximately 56 000 deaths. As with other viral hepatitides, extra-hepatic manifestations could represent an important aspect of this infection. The spectrum of these manifestations is still emerging. Acute pancreatitis and neurological, musculoskeletal, hematological, renal, and other immune-mediated manifestations have been described. The aim of this article is to comprehensively review the published literature of extra-hepatic manifestations associated with HEV infection.

Data sources: We searched the PubMed database using the MeSH term “hepatitis E” and each of the extra-hepatic manifestations associated with HEV infection. No language or date restrictions were set in these searches. Searches retrieving articles with non-A, non-B hepatitis were excluded. Additional articles were identified through the reference lists of included articles.

Results: Several extra-hepatic manifestations associated with HEV infection have been published. The temporal association between some extra-hepatic manifestations and HEV infection and the exclusion of other possible etiologies suggests that HEV infection could have caused some of them. According to the available data, HEV infection appears to be strongly associated with acute pancreatitis, neurological disorders (with primarily dominant peripheral nerve involvement, most commonly manifested as Guillain-Barré syndrome, followed by neuralgic amyotrophy), hematological diseases (hemolytic anemia due to glucose phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency, and severe thrombocytopenia), glomerulonephritis, and mixed cryoglobulinemia. More data are needed to clarify whether an association exists with musculoskeletal or other immune-mediated manifestations.

Conclusions: HEV infection should be considered in patients with acute pancreatitis, Guillain-Barré syndrome, neuralgic amyotrophy, hemolytic anemia due to glucose phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency, severe thrombocytopenia, glomerulonephritis, and mixed cryoglobulinemia. Alternatively, signs and symptoms of these conditions should be sought in patients with acute or chronic HEV infection. More data are needed to confirm the role of HEV in other extra-hepatic disorders.

Acute Hepatitis E in the US Today Occurs in Diverse Patient Populations: Case Reports

Hepatitis E has long been thought of as an infection confined to the developing world. However, there has been an increased incidence of locally acquired cases in developed countries especially in transplant patients. Our first case is a 56-year-old Caucasian female post-heart transplant patient who presented with diarrhea and abdominal pain. She was found to be acutely infected with hepatitis E and progressed to stage 3 liver fibrosis. Our second patient was an otherwise healthy 76-year-old Vietnamese female who presented with abdominal pain, jaundice and fatigue. She was diagnosed with acute hepatitis E complicated by acute renal failure. There have only been a few reported cases of acute hepatitis E complicated by renal failure.