Blood markers of endothelial dysfunction and their correlation to cerebrovascular reactivity in patients with chronic hepatitis C infection

PeerJ

article

Mirela Pavicic Ivelja¹  Kresimir Dolic²  Leida Tandara³  Nikola Perkovic⁴  Antonio Mestrovic⁴  Ivo Ivic¹ 

[1] University of Split School of Medicine, University Hospital of Split, Department of Infectious Diseases;University of Split School of Medicine, University Hospital of Split, Department of Radiology;University of Split School of Medicine, University Hospital of Split, Department of Medical Laboratory Diagnostics;University of Split School of Medicine, University Hospital of Split, Department of Gastroenterology

关键词: Hepatitis;    Cerebrovascular disorders;    Inflammation;    Diagnostic imaging;    Biomarkers;    Atherosclerosis;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.10723

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

Although liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma are major consequences of hepatitis C (HCV), there has been an increasing number of studies examining extrahepatic manifestations, especially those caused by systemic chronic inflammation and metabolic complications that might predispose HCV patients to atherosclerosis and ischemic cerebrovascular disease (CVD). The aim of our study was to assess E-selectin, VCAM-1, ICAM-1 and VEGF-A serum levels in patients with chronic HCV infection and to correlate them with cerebrovascular reactivity. A blood sample was taken from eighteen patients with chronic hepatitis C infection and from the same number of healthy blood donors in the control group. The aim was to analyse markers of endothelial dysfunction and to correlate them with cerebrovascular reactivity expressed as breath-holding index (BHI) determined using transcranial color Doppler. The obtained results revealed significant differences between the groups in all endothelial markers except for the E selectin. While the ICAM-1 and sVCAM-1 were significantly increased in the hepatitis group, VEGF-A was significantly decreased. A significant reduction of 0.5 (95% CI 0.2, 0.8) in the mean BHI was found in the hepatitis group (mean BHI 0.64) compared to controls (mean BHI 1.10). No significant association between the BHI and any of the endothelial markers was found in the control group, while in the hepatitis group, the scatter plot of ICAM-1 vs BHI suggested that the association might be present. In conclusion, the results of this study confirm an association between a chronic HCV infection and altered cerebrovascular reactivity as well as higher levels of markers of endothelial activation (ICAM-1, VCAM-1) as possible indicators of an increased CVD risk.

【 授权许可】

CC BY