Extra-hepatic infection of HCV in the colon tissue and its relationship with HCV pathogenesis.

Extra-hepatic infection of HCV in the colon tissue and its relationship with HCV pathogenesis. J Med Microbiol. 2016 May 10; Authors: Hetta HF, Mekky MA, Khalil NK, Mohamed WA, El-Feky MA, Ahmed SH, Daef EA, Medhat A, Nassar MI, Sherman KE, Shata MT Abstract Extra-hepatic compartments might contribute to HCV persistence and extra-hepatic manifestations. Therefore, we investigated HCV infection in colonic tissue in patients with chronic HCV (CHC) and its relationship with HCV pathogenesis. Colonic biopsies were collected from three groups with CHC infection; treatment naïve (TN; n=12), non-responders (NR; n=10) to anti-HCV therapy (Peg-IFN/Rib), sustained virologic response (SVR; n=10), and a fourth healthy control group (n=10). Liver biopsies were examined to assess inflammation and fibrosis. HCV infection and colonic Treg frequency were detected by immunohistochemistry. HCV core and NS3 proteins were detected in in B cells and macrophage/monocytes of 42%, and 25% of TN and 50% and 30%, of NR, respectively, but not in SVR or control groups. The numbers of cells expressing HCV proteins were positively correlated with both HCV viral load and colonic T reg frequency. A significant negative correlation between HCV expressing cells with both liver inflammation and fibrosis were identified. Our study provides evidence that HCV can infect B cells and macrophage of the colon. The correlations between HCV infection in colonic tissue and HCV ...
Source: Journal of Medical Microbiology - Category: Microbiology Authors: Tags: J Med Microbiol Source Type: research