Despite multiple reports on autoantibody-initiated complement activation in autoimmune hepatitis (AIH), how does the humoral immunity contribute to the pathogenesis of AIH remained unclear. In this report, by adoptively transferring a polyclonal rabbit anti-OVA antibody into Hep-OVA Tg mice in which OVA is selectively expressed on the surface of hepatocytes, we found that excessive complement activation initiated by the autoantibody overwhelmed the protection of intrinsic cell surface complement regulators, and induced hepatocytes injury both in vitro and in vivo. The anti-OVA antibody induced hepatic injury in Hep-OVA Tg but not WT C57BL/6 mice as assessed by serum ALT levels and liver histopathology. Immunohistochemical analyses showed that after the antibody administration, there was massive complement activation on anti-OVA IgG coated hepatocytes in Hep-OVA Tg mice, but not in WT mice. Consistent with these results, depleting complement by cobra venom factor (CVF) prior to antibody injections protected Hep-OVA Tg mice from anti-OVA IgG induced hepatic injury. In addition, treating Hep-OVA Tg mice with recombinant mouse decay accelerating factor, a native complement inhibitor, protected them from autoantibody induced hepatitis. These results suggest that complement could play a pivotal role in liver specific autoantibody mediated hepatocyte injury in AIH, and that complement inhibitors could be, in principle, developed as novel therapeutics against AIH.

Background. Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I and II genotype is associated with clearance of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, but little is known regarding its relation with HCV viral load or risk of liver disease in patients with persistent HCV infection.

Methods. High-resolution HLA class I and II genotyping was conducted in a prospective cohort of 519 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)–seropositive and 100 HIV-seronegative women with persistent HCV infection. The end points were baseline HCV viral load and 2 noninvasive indexes of liver disease, fibrosis-4 (FIB-4), and the aspartate aminotransferase to platelet ratio index (APRI), measured at baseline and prospectively.

Results. DQB1*0301 was associated with low baseline HCV load (β = −.4; 95% confidence interval [CI], −.6 to −.3; P < .00001), as well as with low odds of FIB-4–defined (odds ratio [OR], .5; 95% CI, .2–.9; P = .02) and APRI-defined liver fibrosis (OR, .5; 95% CI, .3–1.0; P = .06) at baseline and/or during follow-up. Most additional associations with HCV viral load also involved HLA class II alleles. Additional associations with FIB-4 and APRI primarily involved class I alleles, for example, the relation of B*1503 with APRI-defined fibrosis had an OR of 2.0 (95% CI, 1.0–3.7; P = .04).

Conclusions. HLA genotype may influence HCV viral load and risk of liver disease, including DQB1*0301, which was associated with HCV clearance in prior studies.

Background

HCV/HIV coinfection treatment is suboptimal with low SVR rates to standard therapies. A multicenter randomized clinical trial designed to assess the efficacy/safety of pegylated-interferon maintenance therapy was performed by the NIH-funded ACTG network.

Methods

HCV treatment naïve and non-responding interferon-experienced subjects with confirmed HCV and HIV, CD4>200 cells/mm3, and at least Stage 1 fibrosis were enrolled, and treated for 12 weeks with pegylated interferon alfa 2a 180 mcg/week (PEG) + weight-based ribavirin to determine response status. Non-responder subjects (failure to clear HCV RNA or achieve 2-log drop) underwent liver biopsy and were randomized to receive full dose PEG or observation only for 72 weeks. Paired biopsies were evaluated by a central pathologist.

Results

330 subjects were enrolled; median age was 48 years; 43% White, 37% Black, non-Hispanic; 83% male; CD4+ 498 cells/mm3; 32% were interferon experienced; 74% had entry HIV RNA<50 cp/ml. EVR was observed in 55.9% and 42.5% achieved cEVR. A planned interim analysis of occurred when 84 subjects were randomized. With data on 40 paired biopsies available, a safety monitoring board stopped the trial due to lack of fibrosis progression (median = 0 Metavir units/year) in the observation arm.

Conclusion

Lack of fibrotic progression in the control arm was unexpected, and may represent a short-term PEG/ribavirin therapy effect, high levels of HIV viral suppression and use of antiretroviral regimens that may be less toxic than prior generations of therapy.

Background

Complications of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection are primarily related to the development of advanced fibrosis.

Methods

Baseline data from a prospective community-based cohort study of 204 persons with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection were used for analysis. The outcome was fibrosis score on biopsy and the primary predictor evaluated was daily cannabis use.

Results

The median age of the cohort was 46.8 years, 69.1% were male, 49.0% were Caucasian, and the presumed route of infection was injection drug use in 70.1%. The median lifetime duration and average daily use of alcohol were 29.1 years and 1.94 drink equivalents per day. Cannabis use frequency (within prior 12 months) was daily in 13.7%, occasional in 45.1%, and never in 41.2%. Fibrosis stage, assessed by Ishak method, was F0, F1–2 and F3–6 in 27.5%, 55.4% and 17.2% of subjects, respectively. Daily compared to non-daily cannabis use was significantly associated with moderate to severe fibrosis (F3–6 versus F1–2) in univariate [OR = 3.21 (95% CI, 1.20–8.56), p = 0.020] and multivariate analyses (OR = 6.78, (1.89–24.31), p=0.003). Other independent predictors of F3–6 were ≥11 portal tracts (compared to <5, OR = 6.92 (1.34–35.7), p=0.021] and lifetime duration of moderate and heavy alcohol use [OR per decade = 1.72 (1.02–2.90), p=0.044].

Conclusion

We conclude that daily cannabis use is strongly associated with moderate to severe fibrosis and that HCV-infected individuals should be counseled to reduce or abstain from cannabis use.

Human genetic variation is a determinant of recovery from an acute hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, but, to date, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in a limited number of genes have been studied with respect to HCV clearance. We determined whether SNPs in 112 selected immune-response genes are important for HCV clearance by genotyping 1536 SNPs in a cohort of 343 persons with natural HCV clearance and 547 persons with HCV persistence. PLINK and Haploview software packages were used to perform association, permutation, and haplotype analyses stratified by African-American (AA) and European-American (EA) race. Of the 1536 SNPs tested, 1426 were successfully genotyped (92.8%). In AAs, we identified 18 SNPs located in 11 gene regions that were associated with HCV outcome (empirical p-value < 0.01). In EAs, there were 20 SNPs located in eight gene regions associated with HCV outcome. Four of the gene regions studied (TNFSF18, TANK, HAVCR1 and IL18BP) contained SNPs with empirical p-values < 0.01 in both of the race groups.

Conclusion

In this large-scale analysis of 1426 genotyped SNPs in 112 candidate genes, we identified four gene regions that are likely candidates for a role in HCV clearance or persistence in both AAs and EAs.

Studies of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles and their relation with hepatitis C virus (HCV) viremia have had conflicting results. However, these studies have varied in size and methods, and few large studies assessed HLA class I alleles. Only one study conducted high resolution class I genotyping. The current investigation therefore involved high-resolution HLA class I and II genotyping of a large multi-racial cohort of US women with high prevalence of HCV and HIV. Our primary analyses evaluated associations between twelve HLA alleles identified through a critical review of the literature and HCV viremia in 758 HCV-seropositive women. Other alleles with >5% prevalence were also assessed; previously unreported associations were corrected for multiple comparisons. DRB1*0101 (prevalence ratio [PR] = 1.7; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.1–2.6), B*5701 (PR=2.0; 95% CI = 1.0–3.1), B*5703 (PR = 1.7; 95% CI = 1.0–2.5), and Cw*0102 (PR = 1.9; 95% CI = 1.0–3.0) were associated with the absence of HCV RNA (i.e., HCV clearance), while DRB1*0301 (PR = 0.4; 95% CI = 0.2–0.7) was associated with HCV RNA positivity. DQB1*0301 was also associated with the absence of HCV RNA but only among HIV-seronegative women (PR = 3.4; 95% CI = 1.2–11.8). Each of these associations was among those predicted. We additionally studied the relation of HLA alleles with HCV infection (serostatus) in women at high risk of HCV from injection drug use (IDU; N=838), but no significant relationships were observed.

Conclusion

HLA genotype influences host capacity to clear HCV viremia. The specific HLA associations observed in the current study are unlikely to be due to chance since they were a priori hypothesized.

Background

How co-infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) impacts on the trajectory of kidney function among HIV-infected patients is unclear. This study examined the effect of HCV on kidney function over time among women infected with HIV.

Study Design

Retrospective observational cohort

Setting and Participants

Study sample included participants from the Women's Interagency HIV Study who were HIV-infected and had received HCV antibody testing and serum creatinine measurement at baseline.

Predictor

HCV seropositivity

Outcomes and Measurement

Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) calculated from semi-annual serum creatinine measurements using the 4-variable Modification of Diet in Renal Diseases (MDRD) Study equation. Linear mixed models were used to evaluate the independent effect of being HCV seropositive on eGFR over time, adjusting for demographic factors, co-morbid conditions, illicit drug use, measures of HIV disease status, use of medications, and interactions with baseline low eGFR (<60 mL/min/1.73m2).

Results

Of the 2,684 HIV-infected women, 952 (35%) were found to be HCV seropositive. For 180 women with CKD at baseline (eGFR <60 mL/min/1.73m2), being HCV seropositive was independently associated with a fully-adjusted net decline in eGFR of about 5% per year (95% CI: 3.2 to 7.2%), relative to women who were seronegative. In contrast, HCV was not independently associated with decline in eGFR among women without low eGFR at baseline (p<0.001 for interaction).

Limitations

The MDRD Study equation has not been validated as a measure of GFR among persons with HIV or HCV. Proteinuria was not included in the study analysis. Because the study is observational, the effects of residual confounding cannot be excluded.

Conclusions

Among HIV-infected women with CKD, co-infection with HCV is associated with a modest, but statistically significant decline in eGFR over time. More careful monitoring of kidney function may be warranted for HIV-infected patients with CKD who are also co-infected with HCV.

Liver-specific immune reactivity in response to aberrant expression of antigen on the surface of hepatocytes is thought to be a major factor in development of autoimmune hepatitis (AIH). Persistent inflammation develops when these antigens are not eliminated and/or responses are not appropriately regulated. We have developed transgenic mice (OVA-HEP), which express chicken ovalbumin on the surface of hepatocytes. These mice are tolerant to ovalbumin, develop normally and have shown no evidence of liver or other disease up to 2 years of age. Adoptive transfer of naïve ovalbumin specific T cells into OVA-HEP transgenic mice led to liver specific inflammation in a dose dependent manner. This hepatic necroinflammation was dependent upon CD8+ Vα2 OVA specific T cells; was limited to the liver; and was augmented by OVA-specific CD4+ T cell help; but did not result from adoptive transfer of ovalbumin specific CD4 T cells alone. The response was self limited but persistent inflammation developed after repeated transfer of antigen specific T cells. This model of T cell recognition of antigen on hepatocytes may be used to understand many liver-specific aspects of the immune response in autoimmune hepatitis.