1
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Doyle EH, Aloman C, El-Shamy A, Eng FJ, Kim-Schulze S, Rahman A, Schiano T, Heeger P, Branch AD. Imprinted immune abnormalities in liver transplant patients cured of hepatitis C with antiviral drugs. Liver Transpl 2024; 30:728-741. [PMID: 38315053 DOI: 10.1097/lvt.0000000000000342] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2023] [Accepted: 01/11/2024] [Indexed: 02/07/2024]
Abstract
Chronic HCV infection induces interferon and dysregulates immune responses through inflammation and chronic antigenic stimulation. Antiviral drugs can cure HCV, providing a unique opportunity to examine the immunological restoration that does and does not occur when a chronic viral infection is eradicated. We quantified blood cytokines levels and used mass cytometry to immunophenotype peripheral blood mononuclear cells before and after HCV cure in 2 groups of patients and controls. At baseline, serum interferon α and soluble CD163 (a macrophage product) were elevated in both liver transplant and nonliver transplant patients compared to controls; the frequencies of several peripheral blood mononuclear cell populations differed from controls; and programmed death protein 1-positivity was increased in nearly all T cell subsets. Many abnormalities persisted after HCV cure, including elevated programmed death protein 1 expression on CD4 naïve and central memory T cells, elevated soluble CD163, and expansion of the plasmablast/plasma cell compartment. Several myeloid-lineage subsets, including Ag-presenting dendritic cells, remained dysregulated. In mechanistic studies, interferon α treatment increased programmed death protein 1 on human T cells and increased T cell receptor signaling. The data identify immunological abnormalities that persist after curative HCV treatment. Before cure, high levels of interferon α may stimulate programmed death protein 1 expression on human T cells, causing persistent functional changes.
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MESH Headings
- Humans
- Liver Transplantation/adverse effects
- Male
- Antiviral Agents/therapeutic use
- Middle Aged
- Female
- Antigens, CD/immunology
- Antigens, CD/blood
- Antigens, CD/metabolism
- Antigens, Differentiation, Myelomonocytic/blood
- Antigens, Differentiation, Myelomonocytic/immunology
- Hepatitis C, Chronic/immunology
- Hepatitis C, Chronic/drug therapy
- Hepatitis C, Chronic/blood
- Hepatitis C, Chronic/surgery
- Interferon-alpha/therapeutic use
- Programmed Cell Death 1 Receptor/antagonists & inhibitors
- Programmed Cell Death 1 Receptor/immunology
- Receptors, Cell Surface/blood
- Receptors, Cell Surface/immunology
- Adult
- Case-Control Studies
- Aged
- Hepacivirus/immunology
- Hepacivirus/drug effects
- Leukocytes, Mononuclear/immunology
- Cytokines/blood
- Immunophenotyping
- Treatment Outcome
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Affiliation(s)
- Erin H Doyle
- Division of Liver Diseases, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | - Costica Aloman
- Department of Surgery, Westchester Medical Center, New York Medical College, Valhalla, New York, USA
| | - Ahmed El-Shamy
- Division of Liver Diseases, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
- College of Graduate Studies, Master of Pharmaceutical Sciences Program
| | - Francis J Eng
- Division of Liver Diseases, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | - Seunghee Kim-Schulze
- Human Immune Monitoring Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | - Adeeb Rahman
- Human Immune Monitoring Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | - Thomas Schiano
- Division of Liver Diseases, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | - Peter Heeger
- Division of Nephrology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | - Andrea D Branch
- Division of Liver Diseases, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
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2
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Kuntzen C, Bagha Z. The Use of Hepatitis C Virus-Positive Organs in Hepatitis C Virus-Negative Recipients. Clin Liver Dis 2022; 26:291-312. [PMID: 35487612 DOI: 10.1016/j.cld.2022.01.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
The use of hepatitis C virus (HCV) -positive organs in HCV-negative recipients with posttransplant antiviral treatment has increasingly been studied since the introduction of new direct-acting antivirals. This article reviews existing experience in liver and kidney transplant. Fifteen studies with 218 HCV D+/R- liver transplants, with 182 from viremic donors, show a sustained viral response for 12 weeks (SVR12) rate of 99.5%. Nine studies involving 204 HCV donor-positive recipient-negative kidney transplant recipients had an SVR12 rate of 99.5%. Complications are infrequent. Preemptive treatment in kidney transplant of for only 4 weeks or even 4 days showed surprising success rates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Kuntzen
- Hofstra University at Northwell Health, 300 Community Drive, Manhasset, NY 11030, USA.
| | - Zohaib Bagha
- Hofstra University at Northwell Health, 300 Community Drive, Manhasset, NY 11030, USA
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3
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Wu X, Roberto JB, Knupp A, Greninger AL, Truong CD, Hollingshead N, Kenerson HL, Tuefferd M, Chen A, Koelle DM, Horton H, Jerome KR, Polyak SJ, Yeung RS, Crispe IN. Response of Human Liver Tissue to Innate Immune Stimuli. Front Immunol 2022; 13:811551. [PMID: 35355993 PMCID: PMC8959492 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.811551] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2021] [Accepted: 02/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Precision-cut human liver slice cultures (PCLS) have become an important alternative immunological platform in preclinical testing. To further evaluate the capacity of PCLS, we investigated the innate immune response to TLR3 agonist (poly-I:C) and TLR4 agonist (LPS) using normal and diseased liver tissue. Pathological liver tissue was obtained from patients with active chronic HCV infection, and patients with former chronic HCV infection cured by recent Direct-Acting Antiviral (DAA) drug therapy. We found that hepatic innate immunity in response to TLR3 and TLR4 agonists was not suppressed but enhanced in the HCV-infected tissue, compared with the healthy controls. Furthermore, despite recent HCV elimination, DAA-cured liver tissue manifested ongoing abnormalities in liver immunity: sustained abnormal immune gene expression in DAA-cured samples was identified in direct ex vivo measurements and in TLR3 and TLR4 stimulation assays. Genes that were up-regulated in chronic HCV-infected liver tissue were mostly characteristic of the non-parenchymal cell compartment. These results demonstrated the utility of PCLS in studying both liver pathology and innate immunity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xia Wu
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States.,Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Jessica B Roberto
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Allison Knupp
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Alexander L Greninger
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States.,Vaccine and Infectious Diseases Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Institute, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Camtu D Truong
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Nicole Hollingshead
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Heidi L Kenerson
- Department of Surgery, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Marianne Tuefferd
- Infectious Diseases and Vaccines, Janssen Research and Development, Beerse, Belgium
| | - Antony Chen
- Infectious Diseases and Vaccines, Janssen Research and Development, Beerse, Belgium
| | - David M Koelle
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States.,Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States.,Vaccine and Infectious Diseases Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Institute, Seattle, WA, United States.,Department of Translational Research, Benaroya Research Institute, Seattle, WA, United States.,Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Helen Horton
- Infectious Diseases and Vaccines, Janssen Research and Development, Beerse, Belgium
| | - Keith R Jerome
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States.,Vaccine and Infectious Diseases Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Institute, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Stephen J Polyak
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States.,Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Raymond S Yeung
- Department of Surgery, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Ian N Crispe
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States
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4
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Ismail B, Benrajab KM, Bejarano P, Ruiz P, Sears D, Tzakis A, Zervos XB. Benign course of residual inflammation at end of treatment of liver transplant recipients after sofosbuvir based therapy. World J Hepatol 2022; 14:602-611. [PMID: 35582292 PMCID: PMC9055203 DOI: 10.4254/wjh.v14.i3.602] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2021] [Revised: 12/16/2021] [Accepted: 02/16/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Persistent inflammation on histology after successful hepatitis C (HCV) treatment has been reported. However, data regarding the long-term impact in liver transplant recipients is limited, particularly after using direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapies.
AIM To evaluate the impact of successful treatment with DAAs on histological changes and occult HCV and to describe the clinical course of residual inflammation in liver transplant recipients.
METHODS We conducted a case series of 13 chronic HCV infected liver transplant recipients successfully treated with DAAs between December 2013 and May 2014. All patients were treated for 24 wk and had non-detectable serum HCV RNA by the time of biopsy. Only patients with at least one liver biopsy at or after treatment were included. We examined liver biopsies for evidence of residual inflammation and the presence of intrahepatic HCV RNA.
RESULTS Persistent inflammation was seen in 12/13 patients on end of treatment biopsy. Inflammation was still seen in the available five follow-up biopsies (range 38-48 wk after the end of treatment). Intrahepatic HCV RNA was undetectable in all biopsies. All patients had preserved graft function for a mean follow-up of 2.5 years, except one that developed chronic rejection.
CONCLUSION After successful HCV treatment with DAAs, liver transplant recipients may have persistent inflammation on biopsy without evidence of intracellular RNA. The clinical outcome remained favorable in most patients. Further studies with a larger number and longer follow-up are needed to establish the implication of this finding on long-term graft function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bahaaeldeen Ismail
- Division of Digestive Diseases and Nutrition, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, KY 40536, United States
| | - Karim M Benrajab
- Division of Digestive Diseases and Nutrition, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, KY 40536, United States
| | - Pablo Bejarano
- Department of Pathology, Cleveland Clinic Florida, Weston, FL 33331, United States
| | - Phillip Ruiz
- Department of Pathology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136, United States
| | - Debbie Sears
- Department of Liver Transplant, Cleveland Clinic Florida, Weston, FL 33331, United States
| | - Andreas Tzakis
- Department of Liver Transplant, Cleveland Clinic Florida, Weston, FL 33331, United States
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5
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Sanghi V, Romero-Marrero C, Flocco G, Graham RP, Abduljawad B, Niyazi F, Asfari MM, Hashimoto K, Eghtesad B, Menon KVN, Aucejo FN, Lopez R, Yerian LM, Allende DS. The spectrum of histopathological findings after SVR to DAA for recurrent HCV infection in liver transplant recipients. Virchows Arch 2021; 480:335-347. [PMID: 34498114 DOI: 10.1007/s00428-021-03191-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2021] [Revised: 08/07/2021] [Accepted: 08/17/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Sustained virological response (SVR) to the treatment of recurrent HCV in liver transplant recipients has excellent clinical outcomes; however, little is known about the effects on allograft histology. The study aimed to assess the histology of the allograft liver. In this single-center, retrospective cohort study, patients with recurrent hepatitis C (HCV) in allograft liver who were cured with antiviral therapy between 2010 and 2016 were identified. Biopsies were reviewed by two liver pathologists blinded to the treatment and SVR status. Paired analysis was performed to compare pre- and post-treatment histological features. Of the 62 patients analyzed, 22 patients received PEGylated interferon/ribavirin (IFN) therapy, while 40 patients received direct-acting antiviral agents (DAA). The mean age was 57 years, 24% were female, and 79% were Caucasian. RNA in situ hybridization testing for HCV and HEV was negative in all the tested patients. Significant reduction in the inflammatory grade of post-treatment biopsy specimens was noted in all subjects (n = 57; p < 0.001) and in the IFN group (n = 21; p = 0.001) but not in the DAA group (p = 0.093). Of all subjects, 21% had worsening stage, 31% had improvement, and 48% had no change in stage. Of the treatment groups, 27% in the IFN and 17% in the DAA groups had worsening stage; however, the results were not statistically significant in all subjects or by treatment modality. Persistent inflammatory infiltrates and fibrosis was noted in allograft tissue of patients cured with DAA. Significant improvement in grade was noted in the IFN group, without a significant change in stage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vedha Sanghi
- Department of Gastroenterology, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, USA
| | - Carlos Romero-Marrero
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Memorial Healthcare System, Hollywood, FL, USA
| | - Gianina Flocco
- Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Rondell P Graham
- Department of Gastroenterology & Liver Pathology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA
| | - Baraa Abduljawad
- Department of Critical Care Medicine/Transplant Hepatology, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - Fadi Niyazi
- Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Mohammad M Asfari
- Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Augusta University, Augusta, GA, USA
| | - Koji Hashimoto
- Department of Surgery - Liver Transplantation, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Bijan Eghtesad
- Department of Surgery - Liver Transplantation, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - K V Narayanan Menon
- Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Federico N Aucejo
- Department of Surgery - Liver Transplantation, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Rocio Lopez
- Department of Quantitative Health Sciences, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Lisa M Yerian
- Department of Gastrointestinal and Hepatobiliary Pathology, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Daniela S Allende
- Department of Gastrointestinal and Hepatobiliary Pathology, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH, USA.
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6
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Saldarriaga OA, Dye B, Pham J, Wanninger TG, Millian D, Kueht M, Freiberg B, Utay N, Stevenson HL. Comparison of liver biopsies before and after direct-acting antiviral therapy for hepatitis C and correlation with clinical outcome. Sci Rep 2021; 11:14506. [PMID: 34267267 PMCID: PMC8282660 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-93881-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2021] [Accepted: 06/18/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Direct-acting antivirals (DAA) have replaced interferon (IFN)-based therapies for hepatitis C virus. In this retrospective clinical study, we examined differences in histopathologic features in paired liver biopsies collected from the same patient before and after DAA and correlated these findings with clinical outcome. Biopsies (n = 19) were evaluated by quantitative imaging analysis to measure steatosis and fibrosis. Most patients had decreased steatosis in their post-treatment, follow-up biopsies. However, one patient had a striking increase in steatosis (from 0.86 to 6.32%) and later developed decompensated cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This patient had a marked increase in fibrosis between biopsies, with a CPA of 6.74 to 32.02. Another patient, who already had bridging fibrosis at the time of her pre-treatment biopsy, developed cholangiocarcinoma after DAA. Even though the overall inflammatory activity in the post-treatment biopsies significantly decreased after treatment, 60% of patients had persistent portal lymphocytic inflammation. In summary, DAAs decreased steatosis and hepatic inflammation in most patients, although some may have persistence of lymphocytic portal inflammation. Patients known to have advanced fibrosis at treatment initiation and who have other risk factors for ongoing liver injury, such as steatosis, should be followed closely for the development of adverse outcomes, such as portal hypertension and primary liver cancers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Omar A Saldarriaga
- Department of Pathology, University of Texas Medical Branch, 301 University Boulevard, Galveston, TX, 77555-0144, USA
| | - Bradley Dye
- School of Medicine, University of Texas Medical Branch, 301 University Boulevard, Galveston, TX, 77555-0144, USA
| | - Judy Pham
- School of Medicine, University of Texas Medical Branch, 301 University Boulevard, Galveston, TX, 77555-0144, USA
| | - Timothy G Wanninger
- School of Medicine, University of Texas Medical Branch, 301 University Boulevard, Galveston, TX, 77555-0144, USA
| | - Daniel Millian
- School of Medicine, University of Texas Medical Branch, 301 University Boulevard, Galveston, TX, 77555-0144, USA
| | - Michael Kueht
- Dept. of Surgery, University of Texas Medical Branch, 301 University Boulevard, Galveston, TX, 77555-0144, USA
| | - Benjamin Freiberg
- Digital Pathology, Araceli Biosciences, 7425 NE Evergreen Pkwy, Hillsboro, OR, 97124, USA
| | - Netanya Utay
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 7000 Fannin St # 1200, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Heather L Stevenson
- Department of Pathology, University of Texas Medical Branch, 301 University Boulevard, Galveston, TX, 77555-0144, USA.
- Department of Pathology, The University of Texas Medical Branch, 712 Texas Avenue, Clinical Services Wing-Room 5.506Q, Galveston, TX, 77555-0416, USA.
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7
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Aregay A, Engel B, Port K, Vondran FWR, Bremer B, Niehaus C, Khera T, Richter N, Jaeckel E, Cornberg M, Taubert R, Wedemeyer H. Distinct Immune Imprints of Post-Liver Transplantation Hepatitis C Persist Despite Viral Clearance. Liver Transpl 2021; 27:887-899. [PMID: 33641215 DOI: 10.1002/lt.26031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2020] [Revised: 01/21/2021] [Accepted: 01/27/2021] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Recurrence or de novo infection of hepatitis C virus (HCV) after liver transplantation (LT) has been associated with progressive graft hepatitis that can be improved by treatment with novel direct-acting antivirals. Cases of rejection episodes have been described during and after HCV treatment. The evolution of innate and adaptive immune response during and after cure of HCV LT is unknown. We studied 74 protein biomarkers in the plasma of LT patients receiving antiviral therapy. In addition, deep immune phenotyping of both the myeloid and lymphoid immune cell subsets in peripheral blood mononuclear cells was performed. We found that LT patients with active HCV infection displayed distinct alterations of inflammatory protein biomarkers, such as C-X-Cmotif chemokine 10 (CXCL10), caspase 8, C-C motif chemokine 20 (CCL20), CCL19, interferon γ, CUB domain-containing protein 1 (CDCP1), interleukin (IL)-18R1, CXCL11, CCL3, IL8, IL12B, tumor necrosis factor-beta, CXCL6, osteoprotegerin, IL10, fms-related tyrosine kinase 3 ligand, hepatocyte growth factor, urokinase-type plasminogen activator, neurotrophin-3, CCL4, IL6, tumornecrosis factor receptor superfamily member 9, programmed death ligand 1, IL18, and monocyte chemotactic protein 1, and enrichment of peripheral immune cell subsets unlike patients without HCV infection who received transplants. Interestingly, patients who cleared HCV after LT did not normalize the altered inflammatory milieu nor did the peripheral immune cell subsets normalize to what would be seen in the absence of HCV recurrence. Overall, these data indicate that HCV-specific imprints on inflammatory analytes and immune cell subsets after LT are not completely normalized by therapy-induced HCV elimination. This is in line with the clinical observation that cure of HCV after LT did not trigger rejection episodes in many patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amare Aregay
- Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endocrinology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Bastian Engel
- Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endocrinology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Kerstin Port
- Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endocrinology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Florian W R Vondran
- Department of General, Visceral and Transplant Surgery, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Birgit Bremer
- Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endocrinology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Christian Niehaus
- Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endocrinology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Tanvi Khera
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Essen University Hospital, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Nicolas Richter
- Department of General, Visceral and Transplant Surgery, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Elmar Jaeckel
- Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endocrinology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.,Integrated Research and Treatment Centre Transplantation, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Markus Cornberg
- Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endocrinology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.,German Centre for Infection Research, DZIF, partner-site Hannover-Braunschweig, Hannover, Germany.,Centre for individualized infection medicine (CIIM), Hannover, Germany
| | - Richard Taubert
- Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endocrinology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.,Integrated Research and Treatment Centre Transplantation, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Heiner Wedemeyer
- Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endocrinology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.,Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Essen University Hospital, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany.,Integrated Research and Treatment Centre Transplantation, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.,German Centre for Infection Research, DZIF, partner-site Hannover-Braunschweig, Hannover, Germany
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8
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Boundary Loss-Based 2.5D Fully Convolutional Neural Networks Approach for Segmentation: A Case Study of the Liver and Tumor on Computed Tomography. ALGORITHMS 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/a14050144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Image segmentation plays an important role in the field of image processing, helping to understand images and recognize objects. However, most existing methods are often unable to effectively explore the spatial information in 3D image segmentation, and they neglect the information from the contours and boundaries of the observed objects. In addition, shape boundaries can help to locate the positions of the observed objects, but most of the existing loss functions neglect the information from the boundaries. To overcome these shortcomings, this paper presents a new cascaded 2.5D fully convolutional networks (FCNs) learning framework to segment 3D medical images. A new boundary loss that incorporates distance, area, and boundary information is also proposed for the cascaded FCNs to learning more boundary and contour features from the 3D medical images. Moreover, an effective post-processing method is developed to further improve the segmentation accuracy. We verified the proposed method on LITS and 3DIRCADb datasets that include the liver and tumors. The experimental results show that the performance of the proposed method is better than existing methods with a Dice Per Case score of 74.5% for tumor segmentation, indicating the effectiveness of the proposed method.
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9
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Weinberg EM, Curry MP, Frenette CT, Regenstein FG, Schiff ER, Goodman ZD, Robinson JM, Chan JL, Imperial JC, Reddy KR. Multicenter, Double-Blind, Randomized Trial of Emricasan in Hepatitis C-Treated Liver Transplant Recipients With Residual Fibrosis or Cirrhosis. Liver Transpl 2021; 27:568-579. [PMID: 37160042 DOI: 10.1002/lt.25934] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2020] [Revised: 10/06/2020] [Accepted: 10/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Despite achieving sustained virologic response (SVR) to hepatitis C virus (HCV) therapy, there remains a post liver transplantation population with advanced fibrosis/cirrhosis. Emricasan is an orally active, pan-caspase inhibitor that suppresses apoptosis and inflammation, potentially decreasing hepatic inflammation and fibrosis. We aimed to determine the safety and efficacy of emricasan (IDN-6556-07) in a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, multicenter study in reducing or preventing the progression of hepatic fibrosis in HCV liver transplant recipients with residual fibrosis or cirrhosis after achieving SVR. A total of 64 participants were randomly assigned to receive 25 mg twice daily of emricasan or placebo in a 2:1 ratio for 24 months. 41 participants were randomly assigned to emricasan and 23 to placebo; 32 participants in the emricasan group (78.0%) and 19 who took a placebo (82.6%) completed the study. There was no difference in the primary endpoint (Ishak fibrosis stages F2-F5, improvement in fibrosis or stability; Ishak fibrosis stage F6, improvement) between the emricasan (77.1%) and placebo groups (74.1%); P = NS. There was no difference between the emricasan (54.5%) and placebo (60.7%) arms in the rate of fibrosis improvement alone. However, those in the prespecified F3 to F5 subgroup had higher rates of stability or improvement in fibrosis in the emricasan group (95.2%) compared with placebo (54.6%) (P = 0.01). The tolerability and safety profiles were similar in both groups. In conclusion, overall stability in the Ishak fibrosis stage was similar between emricasan and placebo groups at 24 months. However, there was improvement and/or stability in fibrosis stage in the prespecified F3 to F5 subgroup with emricasan versus placebo, suggesting that patients with moderate fibrosis may benefit with emricasan.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ethan M Weinberg
- Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
| | - Michael P Curry
- Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA
| | | | | | | | - Zachary D Goodman
- Hepatic Pathology Consultation and Research, Inova Fairfax Hospital, Falls Church, VA
| | | | | | | | - K Rajender Reddy
- Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
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10
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Celli R, Saffo S, Kamili S, Wiese N, Hayden T, Taddei T, Jain D. Liver Pathologic Changes After Direct-Acting Antiviral Agent Therapy and Sustained Virologic Response in the Setting of Chronic Hepatitis C Virus Infection. Arch Pathol Lab Med 2021; 145:419-427. [PMID: 32810870 PMCID: PMC10960369 DOI: 10.5858/arpa.2020-0008-oa] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
CONTEXT.— Treatment of chronic viral hepatitis C (HCV) infection with direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs) results in cure, or sustained viral response (SVR), in more than 90% of patients. However, there are subsets of patients who have persistent liver inflammation and fibrosis and develop hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) despite achieving SVR. A possible reason for these phenomena may be the presence of virus particles in liver tissue but not blood, otherwise defined as occult infection. OBJECTIVE.— To describe liver histologic findings following successful DAA therapy, test HCV RNA by (liver) tissue polymerase chain reaction in treated cases, and identify predictive markers for HCC development in treated cases. DESIGN.— A total of 96 identified patients were divided into 4 groups, each differentiated by the presence or absence of SVR and HCC. Groups were compared for several clinicopathologic variables, including degree of inflammation and fibrosis, and the 'directionality' of fibrosis in cirrhotic livers using the novel progressive-indeterminate-regressive scoring system. RESULTS.— Overall, we found a significant decrease in inflammation in SVR patients. None of the patients showed regression of their cirrhosis following treatment. No evidence of occult HCV infection was seen in 40 livers tested, including 21 with HCC. The number of patients who developed HCC was similar in the SVR and non-SVR groups, and increased inflammation and fibrosis were associated with HCC development. CONCLUSIONS.— Following DAA-SVR there appears to be an overall decrease in inflammation, but the fibrosis tends to persist, at least in the short term (median follow-up of 20.2 months).
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Affiliation(s)
- Romulo Celli
- Department of Pathology (Celli), Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
- Celli is currently with the Department of Pathology at Middlesex Health, Middletown, Connecticut
| | - Saad Saffo
- From the Section of Digestive Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine (Saffo, Taddei), Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Saleem Kamili
- the Division of Viral Hepatitis, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia (Kamili, Wiese, Hayden)
| | - Nicholas Wiese
- the Division of Viral Hepatitis, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia (Kamili, Wiese, Hayden)
| | - Tonya Hayden
- the Division of Viral Hepatitis, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia (Kamili, Wiese, Hayden)
| | - Tamar Taddei
- From the Section of Digestive Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine (Saffo, Taddei), Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Dhanpat Jain
- The Section of Gastrointestinal and Liver Pathology (Jain), Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
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11
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Nair SP, Marella HK, Maliakkal B, Snyder H, Handley C, Kothadia JP, Ali B, Satapathy SK, Molnar MZ, Clark I, Jain R, Helmick R, Eymard C, Eason JD. Transplantation of liver from hepatitis C-infected donors to hepatitis C RNA-negative recipients: Histological and virologic outcome. Clin Transplant 2021; 35:e14281. [PMID: 33690929 DOI: 10.1111/ctr.14281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2020] [Revised: 02/20/2021] [Accepted: 02/27/2021] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The virologic and histologic outcomes of a hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected liver graft into an HCV-negative recipient are not well understood. We aimed to evaluate the sustained virologic response (SVR) rate and the liver histology at 1 year post-Orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) with an HCV-infected graft. METHODS A total of 33 patients received the HCV antibody (Ab)+/nucleic acid amplification test (NAT)+ graft. Of these patients, 23 were HCV-negative recipients and 10 were HCV-positive recipients. The 1-year biopsy data were available for 24 patients: 15 patients in HCV-negative group who received an HCV Ab+/NAT+graft and 9 patients in HCV-positive group who received an HCV Ab+/NAT+ graft. Patients with (+) HCV ribonucleic acid (RNA) were started on direct-acting antiviral (DAA) treatment approximately 107 days after OLT using either a Glecaprevir-Pibrentasvir or Sofosbuvir-Velpatasvir or Sofosbuvir-Ledipasvir. RESULTS All patients (n = 33) were treated with DAA and achieved SVR. The 1-year post-OLT liver biopsies were available in 24 patients: 9 patients had F1 and F2 fibrosis and 17 patients had minimal to moderate inflammation. There was no statistical difference in fibrosis and inflammation between the HCV-negative vs. HCV-positive recipients. All patients who received the NAT+ graft developed viremia and subsequently achieved SVR with treatment. CONCLUSION At 1 year protocol liver biopsy, patients had inflammation consistent with viral hepatitis despite the successful eradication of HCV.
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Affiliation(s)
- Satheesh P Nair
- James D. Eason Transplant Institute, University of Tennessee Health Science Center', Methodist University Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA.,Department of Medicine, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Hemnishil K Marella
- James D. Eason Transplant Institute, University of Tennessee Health Science Center', Methodist University Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA.,Department of Medicine, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Benedict Maliakkal
- James D. Eason Transplant Institute, University of Tennessee Health Science Center', Methodist University Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA.,Department of Medicine, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Heather Snyder
- James D. Eason Transplant Institute, University of Tennessee Health Science Center', Methodist University Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Charlotte Handley
- James D. Eason Transplant Institute, University of Tennessee Health Science Center', Methodist University Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Jiten P Kothadia
- James D. Eason Transplant Institute, University of Tennessee Health Science Center', Methodist University Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA.,Department of Medicine, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Bilal Ali
- James D. Eason Transplant Institute, University of Tennessee Health Science Center', Methodist University Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Sanjaya K Satapathy
- Department of Medicine, Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra, Sandra Atlas Bass Center for Liver Diseases & Transplantation, Northshore University Hospital/Northwell Health, Manhasset, NY, USA
| | - Miklos Z Molnar
- James D. Eason Transplant Institute, University of Tennessee Health Science Center', Methodist University Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Ian Clark
- Department of Pathology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Richa Jain
- Department of Pathology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Ryan Helmick
- James D. Eason Transplant Institute, University of Tennessee Health Science Center', Methodist University Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Corey Eymard
- James D. Eason Transplant Institute, University of Tennessee Health Science Center', Methodist University Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - James D Eason
- James D. Eason Transplant Institute, University of Tennessee Health Science Center', Methodist University Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
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12
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Huang R, Rao HY, Yang M, Gao YH, Wang J, Jin Q, Ma DL, Wei L. Histopathology and the predominantly progressive, indeterminate and predominately regressive score in hepatitis C virus patients after direct-acting antivirals therapy. World J Gastroenterol 2021; 27:404-415. [PMID: 33584072 PMCID: PMC7856841 DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v27.i5.404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2020] [Revised: 12/14/2020] [Accepted: 12/27/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Histological changes after direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) therapy in hepatitis C virus (HCV) patients has not been elucidated. Whether the predominantly progressive, indeterminate and predominately regressive (P-I-R) score, evaluating fibrosis activity in hepatitis B virus patients has predictive value in HCV patients has not been investigated.
AIM To identify histological changes after DAAs therapy and to evaluate the predictive value of the P-I-R score in HCV patients.
METHODS Chronic HCV patients with paired liver biopsy specimens before and after DAAs treatment were included. Sustained virologic response (SVR) was defined as an undetectable serum HCV RNA level at 24 wk after treatment cessation. The Ishak system and P-I-R score were assessed. Inflammation improvement and fibrosis regression were defined as a ≥ 2-points decrease in the histology activity index (HAI) score and a ≥ 1-point decrease in the Ishak fibrosis score, respectively. Fibrosis progression was defined as a ≥ 1-point increase in the Ishak fibrosis score. Histologic improvement was defined as a ≥ 2-points decrease in the HAI score without worsening of the Ishak fibrosis score after DAAs therapy. The P-I-R score was also assessed. “absolutely reversing or advancing” was defined as the same directionality implied by both change in the Ishak score and posttreatment P-I-R score; and “probably reversing or advancing” was defined as only one parameter showing directionality.
RESULTS Thirty-eight chronic HCV patients with paired liver biopsy specimens before and after DAAs treatment were included. The mean age of these patients was 40.9 ± 14.6 years and there were 53% (20/38) males. Thirty-four percent (13/38) of patients were cirrhotic. Eighty-two percent (31/38) of patients achieved inflammation improvement. The median HAI score decreased significantly after SVR (pretreatment 7.0 vs posttreatment 2.0, Z = -5.146, P = 0.000). Thirty-seven percent (14/38) of patients achieved fibrosis improvement. The median Ishak score decreased significantly after SVR (pretreatment 4.0 vs posttreatment 3.0, Z = -2.354, P = 0.019). Eighty-two percent (31/38) of patients showed histological improvement. The P-I-R score was evaluated in 61% (23/38) of patients. The progressive group showed lower platelet (P = 0.024) and higher HAI scores (P = 0.070) before treatment. In patients with stable Ishak stage after treatment: Progressive injury was seen in 22% (4/18) of patients, 33% (6/18) were classified as indeterminate and regressive changes were seen in 44% (8/18) of patients who were judged as probably reversing by the Ishak and P-I-R systems.
CONCLUSION Significant improvement of necroinflammation and partial remission of fibrosis in HCV patients occurred shortly after DAAs therapy. The P-I-R score has potential in predicting fibrosis in HCV patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rui Huang
- Peking University Hepatology Institute, Beijing Key Laboratory of Hepatitis C and Immunotherapy for Liver Diseases, Beijing International Cooperation Base for Science and Technology on NAFLD Diagnosis, Peking University People’s Hospital, Beijing 100044, China
| | - Hui-Ying Rao
- Peking University Hepatology Institute, Beijing Key Laboratory of Hepatitis C and Immunotherapy for Liver Diseases, Beijing International Cooperation Base for Science and Technology on NAFLD Diagnosis, Peking University People’s Hospital, Beijing 100044, China
| | - Ming Yang
- Hepatopancreatobiliary Center, Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital, Tsinghua University, Beijing 102218, China
| | - Ying-Hui Gao
- Peking University Hepatology Institute, Beijing Key Laboratory of Hepatitis C and Immunotherapy for Liver Diseases, Beijing International Cooperation Base for Science and Technology on NAFLD Diagnosis, Peking University People’s Hospital, Beijing 100044, China
| | - Jian Wang
- Peking University Hepatology Institute, Beijing Key Laboratory of Hepatitis C and Immunotherapy for Liver Diseases, Beijing International Cooperation Base for Science and Technology on NAFLD Diagnosis, Peking University People’s Hospital, Beijing 100044, China
| | - Qian Jin
- Peking University Hepatology Institute, Beijing Key Laboratory of Hepatitis C and Immunotherapy for Liver Diseases, Beijing International Cooperation Base for Science and Technology on NAFLD Diagnosis, Peking University People’s Hospital, Beijing 100044, China
| | - Dan-Li Ma
- Peking University Hepatology Institute, Beijing Key Laboratory of Hepatitis C and Immunotherapy for Liver Diseases, Beijing International Cooperation Base for Science and Technology on NAFLD Diagnosis, Peking University People’s Hospital, Beijing 100044, China
| | - Lai Wei
- Hepatopancreatobiliary Center, Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital, Tsinghua University, Beijing 102218, China
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13
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Prakash K, Aslam S. New updates in the world of hepatitis C virus infected organ transplantation. Curr Opin Organ Transplant 2021; 25:364-370. [PMID: 32520787 DOI: 10.1097/mot.0000000000000785] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW With the advent of direct acting antiviral (DAA) therapy, the use of organs from hepatitis C virus infected (HCV+) donors is gaining more traction. In this review, we aim to: provide an overview of recent literature that supports the use of HCV+ organs, outline ongoing challenges to the use of these organs, and highlight the areas within this field where active investigation is ongoing. RECENT FINDINGS The present review describes clinical outcomes related to the transplantation of both HCV+ nonviremic and viremic organs and the distinction between hepatic and nonhepatic transplants. It also discusses the current debate pertaining to the ideal treatment strategy for donor-derived HCV infection, that is pre-emptive therapy versus prophylaxis therapy. SUMMARY Data suggest that the use of HCV+ organs is an effective and relatively well tolerated strategy to combat the organ scarcity. However, clinicians must be vigilant to a signal of increased inflammation as HCV+ organ transplantation becomes more universal. Recent studies suggest that shorter courses of DAA may sufficiently treat donor-derived HCV infection, however the best treatment approach to minimize risk, cost, and toxicity is still under investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katya Prakash
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
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14
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Enomoto M, Kawada N. The Moral of Hepatic Fibrosis: Don't Always Believe Noninvasive Fibrosis Measurements. Dig Dis Sci 2020; 65:1293-1295. [PMID: 31894483 DOI: 10.1007/s10620-019-06035-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Masaru Enomoto
- Department of Hepatology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-4-3, Asahimachi, Abeno, Osaka, 545-8585, Japan.
| | - Norifumi Kawada
- Department of Hepatology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-4-3, Asahimachi, Abeno, Osaka, 545-8585, Japan
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15
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Huang R, Rao H, Yang M, Gao Y, Wang J, Jin Q, Ma D, Wei L. Noninvasive Measurements Predict Liver Fibrosis Well in Hepatitis C Virus Patients After Direct-Acting Antiviral Therapy. Dig Dis Sci 2020; 65:1491-1500. [PMID: 31654313 DOI: 10.1007/s10620-019-05886-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2019] [Accepted: 10/09/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Short-time usage of direct-acting antiviral agents (DAA) limited knowledge regarding histological outcomes and predictive values of noninvasive measurements in patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) after sustained virologic response (SVR) with DAA. AIMS This study aimed to indicate histological changes and assess predictive value of noninvasive measurements for fibrosis in these patients. METHODS HCV patients who achieved SVR by DAA were identified. Pre- and post-SVR clinical and histological data were collected. RESULTS Of patients, 83% (33/40), 38% (15/40) and 83% (33/40) achieved inflammation improvement, fibrosis regression and histological improvement, respectively. Liver stiffness measurements (LSM), APRI, and FIB-4 could predict post-SVR fibrosis well without significant differences. Areas under receiver operating characteristic curves of LSM, APRI, and FIB-4 were 0.78, 0.81, and 0.87 for post-SVR advanced fibrosis (≥ F4) and 0.86, 0.86, and 0.85 for post-SVR cirrhosis (≥ F5), respectively. Pre-SVR LSM, APRI, and FIB-4 values were significantly lower in patients with fibrosis regression (P = 0.003-0.012), while FIB-4 was significantly lower in patients with histological improvement (P = 0.012-0.033). Patients with higher pre-SVR Ishak scores tended to have bigger decline in APRI (P = 0.025) and FIB-4 (P = 0.024) after SVR. CONCLUSIONS DAA could improve liver inflammation and fibrosis of HCV patients in a short time after SVR. LSM, APRI, and FIB-4 predict fibrosis well even after SVR by DAA. Most of the cutoff values for advanced fibrosis (≥ F4) and cirrhosis (≥ F5) of these noninvasive measurements decreased significantly after SVR, maybe because of the inflammation improvement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rui Huang
- Peking University People's Hospital, Peking University Hepatology Institute, Beijing Key Laboratory for Hepatitis C and Immunotherapy for Liver Disease, No. 11 Xizhimen South Street, Beijing, 100044, China
| | - Huiying Rao
- Peking University People's Hospital, Peking University Hepatology Institute, Beijing Key Laboratory for Hepatitis C and Immunotherapy for Liver Disease, No. 11 Xizhimen South Street, Beijing, 100044, China
| | - Ming Yang
- Peking University People's Hospital, Peking University Hepatology Institute, Beijing Key Laboratory for Hepatitis C and Immunotherapy for Liver Disease, No. 11 Xizhimen South Street, Beijing, 100044, China.,Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Yinghui Gao
- Peking University People's Hospital, Peking University Hepatology Institute, Beijing Key Laboratory for Hepatitis C and Immunotherapy for Liver Disease, No. 11 Xizhimen South Street, Beijing, 100044, China
| | - Jian Wang
- Peking University People's Hospital, Peking University Hepatology Institute, Beijing Key Laboratory for Hepatitis C and Immunotherapy for Liver Disease, No. 11 Xizhimen South Street, Beijing, 100044, China
| | - Qian Jin
- Peking University People's Hospital, Peking University Hepatology Institute, Beijing Key Laboratory for Hepatitis C and Immunotherapy for Liver Disease, No. 11 Xizhimen South Street, Beijing, 100044, China
| | - Danli Ma
- Peking University People's Hospital, Peking University Hepatology Institute, Beijing Key Laboratory for Hepatitis C and Immunotherapy for Liver Disease, No. 11 Xizhimen South Street, Beijing, 100044, China
| | - Lai Wei
- Peking University People's Hospital, Peking University Hepatology Institute, Beijing Key Laboratory for Hepatitis C and Immunotherapy for Liver Disease, No. 11 Xizhimen South Street, Beijing, 100044, China. .,Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
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16
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Almotairi S, Kareem G, Aouf M, Almutairi B, Salem MAM. Liver Tumor Segmentation in CT Scans Using Modified SegNet. SENSORS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2020; 20:E1516. [PMID: 32164153 PMCID: PMC7085510 DOI: 10.3390/s20051516] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2019] [Revised: 02/26/2020] [Accepted: 03/04/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
The main cause of death related to cancer worldwide is from hepatic cancer. Detection of hepatic cancer early using computed tomography (CT) could prevent millions of patients' death every year. However, reading hundreds or even tens of those CT scans is an enormous burden for radiologists. Therefore, there is an immediate need is to read, detect, and evaluate CT scans automatically, quickly, and accurately. However, liver segmentation and extraction from the CT scans is a bottleneck for any system, and is still a challenging problem. In this work, a deep learning-based technique that was proposed for semantic pixel-wise classification of road scenes is adopted and modified to fit liver CT segmentation and classification. The architecture of the deep convolutional encoder-decoder is named SegNet, and consists of a hierarchical correspondence of encode-decoder layers. The proposed architecture was tested on a standard dataset for liver CT scans and achieved tumor accuracy of up to 99.9% in the training phase.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sultan Almotairi
- Department of Natural and Applied Sciences, Faculty of Community College, Majmaah University, Majmaah 11952, Saudi Arabia;
| | - Ghada Kareem
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Higher Technological Institute, 10th Ramadan City 44629, Egypt; (G.K.); (M.A.)
| | - Mohamed Aouf
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Higher Technological Institute, 10th Ramadan City 44629, Egypt; (G.K.); (M.A.)
| | - Badr Almutairi
- Department of Information Technology, College of Computer Sciences and Information Technology College, Majmaah University, Al-Majmaah 11952, Saudi Arabia;
| | - Mohammed A.-M. Salem
- Faculty of Computer and Information Sciences, Ain Shams University, Cairo 11566, Egypt
- Faculty of Media Engineering & amp; Technology, German University in Cairo, Cairo 11835, Egypt
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17
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Winters AC, Mittal R, Schiano TD. A review of the use of transient elastography in the assessment of fibrosis and steatosis in the post-liver transplant patient. Clin Transplant 2019; 33:e13700. [PMID: 31441967 DOI: 10.1111/ctr.13700] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2019] [Revised: 07/21/2019] [Accepted: 08/18/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Liver biopsy is considered the gold standard method for diagnosing and staging liver disease, particularly in the post-liver transplant setting. Given the invasive nature of biopsy, alternate means for accurately assessing liver fibrosis and steatosis are preferred especially as the number of patients with fatty liver disease is increasing. Transient elastography has been validated as a useful tool for evaluation of liver fibrosis, as has controlled attenuation parameter index as a tool for assessing steatosis. It is a non-invasive, rapid, and highly reproducible approach to demonstrate the presence of fibrosis among non-transplant patients with chronic liver disease of various etiologies. However, it has not yet found wide acceptance in liver transplant recipients. There are few published studies evaluating the merits and applicability of transient elastography to assess allografts after liver transplantation. We review the published data on the use of transient elastography with concurrent controlled attenuation parameter in liver transplant recipients and recommend its greater use to follow allograft function over time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam C Winters
- Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Rasham Mittal
- Transplant Hepatology, Southern California Permanente Medical Group, Kaiser Permanente, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Thomas D Schiano
- Department of Medicine, Division of Liver Diseases, Recanati/Miller Transplantation Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
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18
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Doyle EH, Rahman A, Aloman C, Klepper AL, El-Shamy A, Eng F, Rocha C, Kim S, Haydel B, Florman SS, Fiel MI, Schiano T, Branch AD. Individual liver plasmacytoid dendritic cells are capable of producing IFNα and multiple additional cytokines during chronic HCV infection. PLoS Pathog 2019; 15:e1007935. [PMID: 31356648 PMCID: PMC6687199 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1007935] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2018] [Revised: 08/08/2019] [Accepted: 06/20/2019] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) are "natural" interferon α (IFNα)-producing cells. Despite their importance to antiviral defense, autoimmunity, and ischemic liver graft injury, because DC subsets are rare and heterogeneous, basic questions about liver pDC function and capacity to make cytokines remain unanswered. Previous investigations failed to consistently detect IFNα mRNA in HCV-infected livers, suggesting that pDCs may be incapable of producing IFNα. We used a combination of molecular, biochemical, cytometric, and high-dimensional techniques to analyze DC frequencies/functions in liver and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected patients, to examine correlations between DC function and gene expression of matched whole liver tissue and liver mononuclear cells (LMCs), and to determine if pDCs can produce multiple cytokines. T cells often produce multiple cytokines/chemokines but until recently technical limitations have precluded tests of polyfunctionality in individual pDCs. Mass cytometry (CyTOF) revealed that liver pDCs are the only LMC that produces detectable amounts of IFNα in response TLR-7/8 stimulation. Liver pDCs secreted large quantities of IFNα (~2 million molecules of IFNα/cell/hour) and produced more IFNα than PBMCs after stimulation, p = 0.0001. LMCs secreted >14-fold more IFNα than IFNλ in 4 hours. Liver pDC frequency positively correlated with whole liver expression of "IFNα-response" pathway (R2 = 0.58, p = 0.007) and "monocyte surface" signature (R2 = 0.54, p = 0.01). Mass cytometry revealed that IFNα-producing pDCs were highly polyfunctional; >90% also made 2-4 additional cytokines/chemokines of our test set of 10. Liver BDCA1 DCs, but not BDCA3 DCs, were similarly polyfunctional. pDCs from a healthy liver were also polyfunctional. Our data show that liver pDCs retain the ability to make abundant IFNα during chronic HCV infection and produce many other immune modulators. Polyfunctional liver pDCs are likely to be key drivers of inflammation and immune activation during chronic HCV infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erin Heather Doyle
- Division of Liver Diseases, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Adeeb Rahman
- Human Immune Monitoring Core, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Costica Aloman
- Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Arielle L. Klepper
- Division of Liver Diseases, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Ahmed El-Shamy
- Division of Liver Diseases, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Francis Eng
- Division of Liver Diseases, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Chiara Rocha
- Recanati Miller Transplantation Institute, The Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Sang Kim
- Department of Anesthesiology, The Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Brandy Haydel
- Recanati Miller Transplantation Institute, The Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Sander S. Florman
- Recanati Miller Transplantation Institute, The Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - M. Isabel Fiel
- Department of Pathology, The Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Thomas Schiano
- Recanati Miller Transplantation Institute, The Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Andrea D. Branch
- Division of Liver Diseases, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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19
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Brown KA, Hassan M. Utilizing Donors with Hepatitis C Antibody Positivity and Negative Nucleic Acid Testing. CURRENT TRANSPLANTATION REPORTS 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s40472-018-0218-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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20
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Enomoto M, Ikura Y, Tamori A, Kozuka R, Motoyama H, Kawamura E, Hagihara A, Fujii H, Uchida-Kobayashi S, Morikawa H, Murakami Y, Kawada N. Short-term histological evaluations after achieving a sustained virologic response to direct-acting antiviral treatment for chronic hepatitis C. United European Gastroenterol J 2018; 6:1391-1400. [PMID: 30386612 DOI: 10.1177/2050640618791053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2018] [Accepted: 06/25/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Interferon-free, direct-acting antiviral treatments can result in a sustained virologic response in nearly 100% of patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection. Aims The purpose of this study was to evaluate histological improvement after achieving a sustained virologic response to direct-acting antiviral treatments in patients with chronic hepatitis C. Methods Among 691 patients with chronic hepatitis C who achieved a sustained virologic response to direct-acting antivirals, 51 underwent liver biopsy 41 ± 20 weeks after the end of treatment despite normal transaminase levels. In 20 patients, liver biopsy specimens obtained a median of 1.2 years before the start of treatment were available. Results Among the 51 patients who underwent post-sustained virologic response biopsies, the grade of inflammation was A0 in 18 patients, A1 in 24, A2 in eight, and A3 in one; the stage of fibrosis was F0 in three patients, F1 in 20, F2 in 15, F3 in nine, and F4 in four. Among the nine post-sustained virologic response biopsy specimens with moderate-to-severe inflammation (≥A2), four showed S1-to-S3 steatosis (>5% of hepatocytes affected). In the 20 paired biopsy specimens, the inflammation grade significantly regressed (p = 0.0043), but the fibrosis stage did not (p = 0.45). Histological improvement, defined as a ≥ 2-point decrease in the Knodell inflammatory score and no worsening of the fibrosis, was found in 11 (55%) patients. The iron accumulation had significantly regressed (p = 0.0093), but the steatosis had not (p = 0.10). Conclusions Even if transaminases become normal after obtaining a sustained virologic response, significant histological inflammation of unknown cause was found in some patients. Additionally, improvement in liver fibrosis was not evident in the short term.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masaru Enomoto
- Department of Hepatology, Osaka City University Medical School, Osaka, Japan
| | - Yoshihiro Ikura
- Department of Pathology, Takatsuki General Hospital, Takatsuki, Japan
| | - Akihiro Tamori
- Department of Hepatology, Osaka City University Medical School, Osaka, Japan
| | - Ritsuzo Kozuka
- Department of Hepatology, Osaka City University Medical School, Osaka, Japan
| | - Hiroyuki Motoyama
- Department of Hepatology, Osaka City University Medical School, Osaka, Japan
| | - Etsushi Kawamura
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Osaka City Juso Hospital, Osaka, Japan
| | - Atsushi Hagihara
- Department of Hepatology, Osaka City University Medical School, Osaka, Japan
| | - Hideki Fujii
- Department of Hepatology, Osaka City University Medical School, Osaka, Japan
| | | | - Hiroyasu Morikawa
- Department of Hepatology, Osaka City University Medical School, Osaka, Japan
| | - Yoshiki Murakami
- Department of Hepatology, Osaka City University Medical School, Osaka, Japan
| | - Norifumi Kawada
- Department of Hepatology, Osaka City University Medical School, Osaka, Japan
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21
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Abstract
The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the most common blood-borne infection in the United States and is the most common cause of end-stage liver disease requiring liver transplant. Over the last 10 years, direct acting antiviral therapies have revolutionized HCV treatment, increasing the cure rates from less than 50% to more than 90% in those who reach access to care. This article is an overview for pathologists and clinicians covering the histologic findings of HCV as well as direct acting antiviral therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Westerhoff
- University of Michigan, 1301 Catherine Street, 5231 Medical Science Building 1, Ann Arbor, MI 48104, USA.
| | - Joseph Ahn
- Oregon Health & Science University, 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Road, Mail Code L-461, Portland, OR 97239, USA
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22
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Bari K, Luckett K, Kaiser T, Diwan T, Cuffy M, Schoech MR, Safdar K, Blackard JT, Apewokin S, Paterno F, Sherman KE, Zucker SD, Anwar N, Shah SA. Hepatitis C transmission from seropositive, nonviremic donors to non-hepatitis C liver transplant recipients. Hepatology 2018; 67:1673-1682. [PMID: 29205441 DOI: 10.1002/hep.29704] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2017] [Revised: 11/09/2017] [Accepted: 11/28/2017] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
UNLABELLED Breakthroughs in hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment and rising rates of intravenous drug use have led to an increase in the number of organ donors who are HCV antibody-positive but serum nucleic acid test (NAT)-negative. The risk of HCV transmission from the liver grafts of these donors to recipients is unknown. To estimate the incidence of HCV transmission, we prospectively followed 26 consecutive HCV antibody-negative (n = 25) or NAT-negative (n = 1) transplant recipients who received a liver graft from donors who were HCV antibody-positive but serum NAT-negative between March 2016 and March 2017. HCV transmission was considered to have occurred if recipients exhibited a positive HCV PCR test by 3 months following transplantation. Drug overdose was listed as the cause of death in 15 (60%) of the donors. One recipient died 18 days after transplantation from primary graft nonfunction and was excluded. Of the remaining 25 recipients, HCV transmission occurred in 4 (16%), at a median follow-up of 11 months, all from donors who died of drug overdose. Three of these patients were treated with direct-acting antiviral therapy, with two achieving a sustained virologic response and one an end-of-treatment response. One patient with HCV transmission died after a complicated postoperative course and did not receive antiviral therapy. CONCLUSION In this prospective cohort of non-HCV liver recipients receiving grafts from HCV antibody-positive/NAT-negative donors, the incidence of HCV transmission was 16%, with the highest risk conferred by donors who died of drug overdose; given the availability of safe and highly effective antiviral therapies, use of such organs could be considered to expand the donor pool. (Hepatology 2018;67:1673-1682).
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Affiliation(s)
- Khurram Bari
- Division of Digestive Diseases, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
| | - Keith Luckett
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
| | - Tiffany Kaiser
- Division of Digestive Diseases, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
| | - Tayyab Diwan
- Division of Transplant Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
| | - Madison Cuffy
- Division of Transplant Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
| | - Michael R Schoech
- Division of Digestive Diseases, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
| | - Kamran Safdar
- Division of Digestive Diseases, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
| | - Jason T Blackard
- Division of Digestive Diseases, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
| | - Senu Apewokin
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
| | - Flavio Paterno
- Division of Transplant Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
| | - Kenneth E Sherman
- Division of Digestive Diseases, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
| | - Stephen D Zucker
- Division of Digestive Diseases, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH.,Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
| | - Nadeem Anwar
- Division of Digestive Diseases, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
| | - Shimul A Shah
- Division of Transplant Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
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23
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Mauro E, Crespo G, Montironi C, Londoño MC, Hernández-Gea V, Ruiz P, Sastre L, Lombardo J, Mariño Z, Díaz A, Colmenero J, Rimola A, Garcia-Pagán JC, Brunet M, Forns X, Navasa M. Portal pressure and liver stiffness measurements in the prediction of fibrosis regression after sustained virological response in recurrent hepatitis C. Hepatology 2018; 67:1683-1694. [PMID: 28960366 DOI: 10.1002/hep.29557] [Citation(s) in RCA: 101] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2017] [Revised: 08/21/2017] [Accepted: 09/25/2017] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
UNLABELLED Sustained virological response (SVR) improves survival in post-liver transplant (LT) recurrent hepatitis C. However, the impact of SVR on fibrosis regression is not well defined. In addition, the performance of noninvasive methods to evaluate the presence of fibrosis and portal hypertension (PH) post-SVR has been scarcely evaluated. We aimed to investigate the degree of fibrosis regression (decrease ≥1 METAVIR stage) after-SVR and its associated factors in recurrent hepatitis C, as well as the diagnostic capacity of noninvasive methods in the assessment of liver fibrosis and PH after viral clearance. We evaluated 112 hepatitis C virus-infected LT recipients who achieved SVR between 2001 and 2015. A liver biopsy was performed before treatment and 12 months post-SVR. Hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG), liver stiffness measurement (LSM), and Enhanced Liver Fibrosis (ELF) score were also determined at the same time points. Sixty-seven percent of the cohort presented fibrosis regression: 43% in recipients with cirrhosis and 72%-85% in the remaining stages (P = 0.002). HVPG, LSM, and ELF significantly decreased post-SVR. Liver function significantly improved, and survival was significantly better in patients achieving fibrosis regression. Baseline HVPG and LSM as well as decompensations before therapy were independent predictors of fibrosis regression. One year post-SVR, LSM had a high diagnostic accuracy to discard the presence of advanced fibrosis (AF) and clinically significant PH (AUROC, 0.902 and 0.888). CONCLUSION In conclusion, SVR post-LT induces fibrosis regression in most patients, leading to significant clinical benefits. Pretreatment HVPG and LSM are significant determinants of the likelihood of fibrosis regression. Finally, LSM accurately predicts the presence of AF and PH 1 year after SVR and thus can be used to determine monitoring strategies. (Hepatology 2018;67:1683-1694).
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Affiliation(s)
- Ezequiel Mauro
- Liver Transplant Unit, Liver Unit, IDIBAPS, CIBERehd, Hospital Clínic, Barcelona, Spain.,Liver Unit, Hospital Italiano, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Gonzalo Crespo
- Liver Transplant Unit, Liver Unit, IDIBAPS, CIBERehd, Hospital Clínic, Barcelona, Spain
| | | | | | - Virginia Hernández-Gea
- Barcelona Hemodynamics Laboratory, Liver Unit, IDIBAPS, CIBERehd, Hospital Clínic, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Pablo Ruiz
- Liver Transplant Unit, Liver Unit, IDIBAPS, CIBERehd, Hospital Clínic, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Lydia Sastre
- Liver Transplant Unit, Liver Unit, IDIBAPS, CIBERehd, Hospital Clínic, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Julissa Lombardo
- Liver Transplant Unit, Liver Unit, IDIBAPS, CIBERehd, Hospital Clínic, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Zoe Mariño
- Liver Unit, IDIBAPS, CIBERehd, Hospital Clínic, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Alba Díaz
- Pathology Department, Hospital Clínic, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jordi Colmenero
- Liver Transplant Unit, Liver Unit, IDIBAPS, CIBERehd, Hospital Clínic, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Antoni Rimola
- Liver Transplant Unit, Liver Unit, IDIBAPS, CIBERehd, Hospital Clínic, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Juan Carlos Garcia-Pagán
- Barcelona Hemodynamics Laboratory, Liver Unit, IDIBAPS, CIBERehd, Hospital Clínic, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Mercé Brunet
- Pharmacology and Toxicology, IDIBAPS, CIBERehd, Hospital Clínic, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Xavier Forns
- Liver Unit, IDIBAPS, CIBERehd, Hospital Clínic, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Miquel Navasa
- Liver Transplant Unit, Liver Unit, IDIBAPS, CIBERehd, Hospital Clínic, Barcelona, Spain
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24
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Putra J, Schiano TD, Fiel MI. Histological assessment of the liver explant in transplanted hepatitis C virus patients achieving sustained virological response with direct-acting antiviral agents. Histopathology 2018; 72:990-996. [PMID: 29235144 DOI: 10.1111/his.13453] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2017] [Accepted: 12/06/2017] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
AIMS The use of direct-acting anti-viral agents (DAAs) has resulted in extremely high sustained virological response (SVR) rates in patients being treated while on liver transplantation (LT) waiting lists. The aim of this study was to evaluate the histological findings of hepatitis C virus (HCV) patients who achieved SVR after receiving DAA treatment [SVR(+)] prior to LT, and compare them with HCV patients who had not achieved SVR [SVR(-)]. METHODS AND RESULTS Fifty-eight adult HCV patients who underwent LT at our institution from 2014 to 2016 were included in the study. Two pathologists, blinded to SVR status, simultaneously evaluated the histological sections. Assessment included the Histology Activity Index (HAI/modified Knodell score), fibrosis stage (Ishak score), and Laennec cirrhosis stage. The study group comprised 25 SVR(+) patients (56% male; mean age, 63.8 years), and the control group comprised 33 SVR(-) patients (69% male; mean age, 61.7 years). There was no significant difference in HAI between the groups (P = 0.414). Patients who achieved SVR also did not show less portal inflammation (P = 0.787), interface hepatitis (P = 0.999), confluent necrosis (P = 0.627) or spotty necrosis (P = 0.093) than the control group. There was a trend towards a higher degree of inflammation in patients who achieved SVR in <24 weeks (P = 0.07). The degree of focal lytic necrosis/apoptosis and portal inflammation was more prominent in SVR(+) patients with shorter SVR-LT intervals. CONCLUSIONS Our study is the first to report persistent inflammation in HCV patients who received DAAs prior to LT. This supports the notion that inflammation is immunologically driven and that inflammation persists despite the absence of virus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan Putra
- Department of Pathology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.,Department of Pathology, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Thomas D Schiano
- Division of Liver Diseases, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the Recanati-Miller Transplantation Institute, New York, NY, USA
| | - M Isabel Fiel
- Department of Pathology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
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