Liver injury in HIV monoinfected patients: should we turn a blind eye to it?

Etiology and Severity of Liver Disease in HIV-Positive Patients With Suspected NAFLD: Lessons From a Cohort With Available Liver Biopsies

BACKGROUND

Spectrum of liver injury among HIV-positive people is wide; in particular, prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) seems to be higher compared with HIV-negative people.

METHODS

We retrospectively evaluated all liver biopsies performed at Royal Free Hospital from 2000 to 2017 in HIV monoinfected patients with abnormal transaminases, to assess the underlying cause of liver disease and to characterize the extent of fibrosis. We furthermore evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of FIB4 and FibroScan as noninvasive tools for fibrosis assessment.

RESULTS

Ninety-seven patients were included. Most common histological findings were NAFLD (28%), nonspecific changes (26%), and normal histology (13%). Twenty percent of the patients had significant fibrosis and 11% had advanced fibrosis. FIB4, at a cutoff of 1.3, had a specificity of 82% and negative predictive value (NPV) of 95% for exclusion of advanced fibrosis. FibroScan was available in 28% patients and 33% had a liver stiffness ≥7.5 kPa. FibroScan showed a specificity of 77% and NPV of 94% for exclusion of significant fibrosis. Among patients with NAFLD (n = 27), 18% had advanced fibrosis, whereas the majority (56%) did not have any fibrosis. The NPV of FIB4 for advanced fibrosis in these patients was 93%.

CONCLUSIONS

Among HIV-positive patients with elevated transaminases, a surprisingly high number of patients had nonsignificant changes or even normal histological findings. The prevalence of NAFLD was lower than reported in other series. Use of noninvasive tools with a high NPV for significant fibrosis can help reduce the number of required biopsies.

Human immunodeficiency virus-infected and uninfected adults with non-genotype 3 hepatitis C virus have less hepatic steatosis than adults with neither infection

Hepatic steatosis (HS) is common in individuals with hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections, but the independent contributions of HCV and HIV to HS are unclear. Magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy were used to measure visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and liver fat fraction (LFF) (total lipids/[total lipids + water]) in 356 adults: 57 with HCV monoinfection, 70 with HIV/HCV coinfection, 122 with HIV monoinfection, and 107 with neither infection. Participants who were infected with HCV genotype 3 were excluded because of the genotype's reported steatogenic effects. For prevalence estimates, HS was defined as LFF ≥ 0.05. We estimated the association of HIV and HCV status with LFF using multivariable linear regression, adjusting for demographics, lifestyle, and metabolic factors including the homeostasis model assessment estimate of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and liver fibrosis defined using the aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index (APRI). The prevalence of HS was highest in the uninfected (33%) and HIV-monoinfected (28%), followed by the HCV-monoinfected (19%) and HIV/HCV-coinfected (11%) (P = 0.003 across groups). Compared with uninfected participants-and after adjusting for demographics, lifestyle, and metabolic factors-HIV monoinfection, HCV monoinfection, and HIV/HCV coinfection were associated with 19% (95% confidence interval [CI], -39% to 6%), 38% (95% CI, -55% to -12%), and 42% (95% CI, -59% to -18%) lower LFF, respectively. HCV monoinfection and HIV/HCV coinfection remained strongly associated with lower LFF after further adjusting for APRI, and results were unchanged after excluding subjects with suspected cirrhosis. Among the entire cohort, Hispanic ethnicity, male sex, VAT, and HOMA-IR were independently associated with greater LFF.

CONCLUSION

Contrary to expectations, HIV/HCV-coinfected and HCV-monoinfected adults had significantly less liver fat than uninfected adults, even after adjusting for demographics, lifestyle, metabolic factors, and hepatic fibrosis. Our findings suggest that non-genotype 3 HCV infection may be protective against HS. The mechanisms by which this occurs and the impact of HCV treatment on HS requires further investigation. (Hepatology 2017;65:853-863).

Do the epidemiology, physiological mechanisms and characteristics of hepatocellular carcinoma in HIV-infected patients justify specific screening policies?

Reducing the incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in HIV-infected patients has become a serious problem when managing these patients. There are many explanations for this disease evolution, which notably include their longer survival under effective antiviral therapy and also the more rapid evolution of chronic liver disease. Despite recent advances in the management of hepatitis B (HBV) and hepatitis C (HCV) viral diseases, which will probably increase the number of patients achieving a virological response, HIV-infected patients with cirrhosis are still at risk of the onset of HCC. This evolution to HCC is also correlated to other comorbidities such as excessive alcohol consumption and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). HCC thus remains a public health issue in this population. The poor prognosis and aggressiveness of HCC have been fully demonstrated, but the mechanisms underlying this aggressiveness are not yet well defined. As well as underlying mechanisms that contribute to accelerating hepatocarcinogenesis in HIV-infected patients, there are other reasons why HIV-infected patients should be considered a higher risk population. This review discusses the principal epidemiological determinants; the mechanisms of pathogenesis; and the treatment of HCC in HIV/HBV and HIV/HCV coinfected patients. It also discusses the probable need to develop a specific screening policy for HCC in this population in order to prevent the rapid development and to make them more amenable to a curative treatment.

Risk factors for fatty liver in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study

OBJECTIVES

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and antiretroviral therapy (ART) may increase the risk of fatty liver disease. We determined the prevalence of and risk factors for fatty liver by comparing HIV-infected men with HIV-uninfected men who have sex with men in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS).

METHODS

In 719 MACS participants who consumed less than three alcoholic drinks daily, fatty liver was defined as a liver-to-spleen attenuation ratio <1 on noncontrast computed tomography (CT). We genotyped single nucleotide polymorphisms in the patatin-like phospholipase domain-containing 3 (PNPLA3) gene and in other genes previously associated with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Risk factors for fatty liver were determined using multivariable logistic regression.

RESULTS

Among 254 HIV-uninfected men and 465 HIV-infected men, 56% were White with median age 53 years and median body mass index 25.8 kg/m(2). The vast majority of HIV-infected men (92%) were on ART, and 87% of the HIV-infected men were treated with a nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor for a median duration of 8.5 years. Overall, 15% of the cohort had fatty liver, which was more common in the HIV-uninfected compared with the HIV-infected men (19 vs. 13%, P=0.02). In multivariable analysis, HIV infection was associated with a lower prevalence of fatty liver (odds ratio (OR)=0.44, P=0.002), whereas a higher prevalence of fatty liver was seen in participants with PNPLA3 (rs738409) non-CC genotype (OR=2.06, P=0.005), more abdominal visceral adipose tissue (OR=1.08 per 10 cm(2), P<0.001), and homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) ≥4.9 (OR=2.50, P=0.001). Among HIV-infected men, PNPLA3 (rs738409) non-CC genotype was associated with a higher prevalence of fatty liver (OR=3.30, P=0.001) and cumulative dideoxynucleoside exposure (OR=1.44 per 5 years, P=0.02).

CONCLUSIONS

CT-defined fatty liver is common among men at risk for HIV infection and is associated with greater visceral adiposity, HOMA-IR, and PNPLA3 (rs738409). Although treated HIV infection was associated with a lower prevalence of fatty liver, prolonged exposure to dideoxynucleoside analogs is associated with higher prevalence.