Plasma metabolomic fingerprint of advanced cirrhosis stages among HIV/HCV-coinfected and HCV-monoinfected patients.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Hepatitis C virus (HCV), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and cirrhosis induce metabolic disorders. Here, we aimed to evaluate the association of plasma metabolites with Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) score and hepatic decompensation in HIV/HCV-coinfected and HCV-monoinfected patients with advanced cirrhosis. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out in 62 HIV/HCV-coinfected and 28 HCV-monoinfected patients. Metabolomics analysis was performed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). The statistical association analysis was performed by partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) and generalized linear model (GLM) with binomial distribution (to analyse HIV coinfection, high alcohol intake, treatment with statins, previous HCV therapy failure and decompensation) and ordinal logistic regression (OLR) models to analyse different stages of cirrhosis (CTP score). RESULTS: The statistical analysis identified plasma metabolites associated with HIV coinfection, high alcohol intake, CTP score and hepatic decompensation. Overall, fatty acids, bile acids, aromatic and sulphur amino acids, butyrate derivatives, oxidized phospholipids, energy-related metabolites and bacterial fermentation-related metabolites were increased in more advanced cirrhosis stages; while lysophosphatidylcholines and lysophosphatidylethanolamines, branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) and metabolites of tricarboxylic acid cycle, among others, were decreased in more advanced cirrhosis. Most of the significant metabolites displayed a similar trend after stratifying for HIV/HCV- and HCV-infected patients. Glycolic acid, LPC (16:0) and taurocholic acid had high accuracy for discriminating patients according to decompensated cirrhosis (CTP ≥ 7). CONCLUSION: Altered plasma metabolomic profile was associated with advanced stages of cirrhosis in HIV/HCV-coinfected and HCV-monoinfected patients.

Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and machine learning as a promising tandem for fast viral detection in serum microsamples: A preclinical proof of concept.

Fast detection of viral infections is a key factor in the strategy for the prevention of epidemics expansion and follow-up. Hepatitis C is paradigmatic within viral infectious diseases and major challenges to elimination still remain. Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is an inexpensive, clean, safe method for quickly detecting viral infection in transmission vectors, aiding epidemic prevention. Our objective is to evaluate the combined potential of machine learning and NIRS global molecular fingerprint (GMF) from biobank sera as an efficient method for HCV activity discrimination in serum. GMF of 151 serum biobank microsamples from hepatitis C patients were obtained with a FT-NIR spectrophotometer in reflectance mode. Multiple scatter correction, smoothing and Saviztsky-Golay second derivative were applied. Spectral analysis included Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Bootstrap and L1-penalized classification. Microsamples of 70 µl were sufficient for GMF acquisition. Bootstrap evidenced significant difference between HCV PCR positive and negative sera. PCA renders a neat discrimination between HCV PCR-positive and negative samples. PCA loadings together with L1-penalized classification allow the identification of discriminative bands. Active virus positive sera are associated to free molecular water, whereas water in solvation shells is associated to HCV negative samples. Divergences in the water matrix structure and the lipidome between HCV negative and positive sera, as well as the relevance of prooxidants and glucose metabolism are reported as potential biomarkers of viral activity. Our proof of concept demonstrates that NIRS GMF of hepatitis C patients' sera aided by machine learning allows for efficient discrimination of viral presence and simultaneous potential biomarker identification.

PBMCs gene expression signature of advanced cirrhosis with high risk for clinically significant portal hypertension in HIV/HCV coinfected patients: A cross-control study.

BACKGROUND: Patients with advanced cirrhosis are at high risk of developing clinically significant portal hypertension (CSPH). We analyzed the gene expression profile of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from HIV/HCV coinfected patients to identify a gene expression signature of advanced cirrhosis with high risk for CSPH. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study on 68 patients. Liver stiffness measurement (LSM) was used to stratify patients into < 12.5 kPa (no cirrhosis, n = 19), 12.5 - 24.9 kPa (cirrhosis, n = 20), and ≥ 25 kPa (advanced cirrhosis with high risk for CSPH, n = 29). Besides, we further evaluated LSM < 25 kPa (n = 39) vs. ≥ 25 kPa (n = 29). Total RNA was extracted from PBMCs, and poly(A) RNA sequencing was performed. Two significant differentially expressed (SDE) transcripts were validated by quantitative PCR in a different cohort (n = 46). RESULTS: We found 60 SDE transcripts between patients with LSM < 12.5 kPa and ≥ 25 kPa. Partial least squares discriminant analysis showed that those 60 SDE transcripts collectively discriminated LSM ≥ 25 kPa, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) of 0.84. Eight genes had an AUROC ≥ 0.75 for LSM ≥ 25 kPa: five were positively associated with LSM values (SCAMP1, ABHD17B, GPR146, GTF2A1, and TMEM64), while three were inversely associated (ZFHX2-AS1, MDK, and STAG3L2). We validated the two SDE transcripts with the highest discrimination capacity in a different cohort, finding significant differences between < 25 kPa and ≥ 25 kPa (MDK (p = 0.006) and STAG3L2 (p = 0.021)). CONCLUSIONS: A gene expression signature of 60 transcripts was associated with advanced cirrhosis with high risk for CSPH in HIV/HCV coinfected patients.

HCV Cure With Direct-Acting Antivirals Improves Liver and Immunological Markers in HIV/HCV-Coinfected Patients.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) cure after all-oral direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy greatly improves the liver and immune system. We aimed to assess the impact of this HCV clearance on immune system-related markers in plasma and the gene expression profile in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/HCV-coinfected patients with advanced cirrhosis. We performed a prospective study on 33 HIV/HCV-coinfected patients at baseline and 36 weeks after the sustained virological response. Gene expression was evaluated by RNA-seq analysis on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and plasma biomarkers by multiplex immunoassays. We found a decrease in plasma biomarkers (PD1, PDL1, CXCL10, CXCL8, IL12p70, IL10, and TGFß) and liver disease markers (stiffness measurement (LSM), hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG), and transaminases, among others). Furthermore, decreased plasma levels of CXCL8, CXCL10, IL10, and PD1 were associated with reduced LSM values. We also found two upregulated (HAS1 and IRG1) and 15 downregulated (CXCL11, CCL8, CCL7, CCL2, ADARB2, RRAD, MX1, SIGLEC1, IFI44L, IFI44, IFI27, IFI6, IFIT3, IFIT1B, and IFIT1) genes at the end of follow-up, all interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs) grouped into four pathways ("cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction", "viral protein interaction with cytokine and cytokine receptor", "chemokine signaling pathway", and "hepatitis C"). Additionally, the decrease in most of these ISGs was significantly related to reduced LSM and HVPG values. In conclusion, HIV/HCV-coinfected patients with advanced-HCV-related cirrhosis who eradicated HCV following DAA therapy exhibited an improvement in liver disease markers and a significant decrease in plasma biomarkers and gene expression related to antiviral/inflammatory response, particularly in levels of several chemokines and ISGs.

Successful HCV Therapy Reduces Liver Disease Severity and Inflammation Biomarkers in HIV/HCV-Coinfected Patients With Advanced Cirrhosis: A Cohort Study.

Background: Eradication of hepatitis C virus (HCV) promotes an improvement in liver disease and the deactivation of the immune system. Here, we aimed to evaluate the changes in liver disease scores and plasma biomarkers following HCV clearance with direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) in HIV-infected patients with advanced HCV-related cirrhosis. Methods: We performed an observational study of 50 patients with advanced cirrhosis who received DAAs therapy. Variables were assessed at baseline and 48 weeks after HCV treatment completion. Epidemiological and clinical data were collected through an online form. Liver stiffness measurement (LSM), hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG), and Child-Pugh-Turcotte (CTP) were evaluated by physicians. Plasma biomarkers were measured by multiplex immunoassay. Results: We found significant decreases in severity scores of liver disease [LSM (q-value < 0.001), HVPG (q-value = 0.011), and CTP (q-value = 0.045)] and plasma biomarkers [LBP (q-value < 0.001), IP-10 (q-value < 0.001), IL-8 (q-value < 0.001), IL-18 (q-value < 0.001), IL-1RA (q-value = 0.013), OPG (q-value < 0.001), sVCAM-1 (q-value < 0.001), sICAM-1 (q-value < 0.001), PAI-1 (q-value = 0.001), and VEGF-A (q-value = 0.006)]. We also found a significant direct association between the change in LSM values and the change in values of LBP (q-value < 0.001), IP-10 (q-value < 0.001), MCP-1 (q-value = 0.008), IL-8 (q-value < 0.001), IL-18 (q-value < 0.001), OPG (q-value = 0.004), sVCAM-1 (q-value < 0.001), sICAM-1 (q-value < 0.001), and PAI-1 (q-value = 0.002). For CTP values, we found significant positive associations with IP-10 (q-value = 0.010), IL-6 (q-value = 0.010), IL-1RA (q-value = 0.033), and sICAM-1 (q-value = 0.010). Conclusion: The HCV eradication with all-oral DAAs in HIV/HCV-coinfected patients with advanced cirrhosis promoted an improvement in the severity of advanced cirrhosis and plasma biomarkers (inflammation, coagulopathy, and angiogenesis). The decrease in plasma biomarkers was mainly related to the reduction in LSM values.

Plasma IP-10 and IL-6 are linked to Child-Pugh B cirrhosis in patients with advanced HCV-related cirrhosis: a cross-sectional study.

We aimed to evaluate the association of plasma biomarkers linked to inflammation (bacterial translocation, inflammatory response, and endothelial dysfunction), coagulopathy, and angiogenesis with the severity of liver cirrhosis (assessed by the Child-Pugh-Turcotte score, CTP) and Child-Pugh B cirrhosis (CTP 7-9) in patients with advanced hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related cirrhosis. We carried out a cross-sectional study in 97 patients with advanced HCV-related cirrhosis (32 HCV-monoinfected and 65 HIV/HCV-coinfected). Plasma biomarkers were measured by ProcartaPlex multiplex immunoassays. The outcome variable was the CTP score and the Child-Pugh B cirrhosis (CTP 7-9). HIV/HCV-coinfected patients and HCV-monoinfected patients with advanced HCV-related cirrhosis had near-equivalent values of plasma biomarkers. Higher values of plasma biomarkers linked to an inflammatory response (IP-10, IL-8, IL-6, and OPG), endothelial dysfunction (sVCAM-1 and sICAM-1), and coagulopathy (D-dimer) were related to higher CTP values. The most significant biomarkers to detect the presence of Child-Pugh B cirrhosis (CTP 7-9) were IP-10 (p-value= 0.008) and IL-6 (p-value=0.002). The AUC-ROC values of IP-10, IL-6, and both biomarkers combined (IP-10+IL-6) were 0.78, 0.88, and 0.96, respectively. In conclusion, HIV infection does not appear to have a significant impact on the analyzed plasma biomarkers in patients with advanced HCV-related cirrhosis. However, plasma biomarkers linked to inflammation (inflammatory response and endothelial dysfunction) were related to the severity of liver cirrhosis (CTP score), mainly IP-10 and IL-6, which discriminated patients with Child-Pugh B concerning Child-Pugh A.