Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Dec;3(4):203-208.
doi: 10.5114/ceh.2017.71573. Epub 2017 Nov 16.

Normalizing serum hepcidin but not α-1-antitrypsin level during effective treatment of chronic hepatitis C

Magdalena Rogalska-Taranta  1 , Jerzy Jaroszewicz  1   2 , Robert Flisiak  1
Affiliations

Normalizing serum hepcidin but not α-1-antitrypsin level during effective treatment of chronic hepatitis C

Magdalena Rogalska-Taranta et al. Clin Exp Hepatol. 2017 Dec.

Abstract

Aim of the study: We investigated the impact of pegylated interferon α-2 in combination with ribavirin (PEG-IFNα/RBV) treatment on hepcidin and α-1-antitrypsin concentrations in the serum of patients with chronic hepatitis C.

Material and methods: We measured serum concentrations of hepcidin, prohepcidin and α-1-antitrypsin by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays in patients with chronic hepatitis C before and during antiviral therapy.

Results: Hepcidin concentrations were increased in both genotype 1b and 3a hepatitis C virus (HCV) infected patients as compared with the control group. During treatment of patients infected with genotype 1b HCV hepcidin levels gradually declined, reaching significantly lower values at the treatment termination than before therapy. Treatment responders showed an increased concentration of hepcidin at week 4 of therapy and a subsequent decrease to values significantly lower than observed among non-responders at week 48 of treatment. α-1-antitrypsin concentration was not affected by the treatment efficacy.

Conclusions: Successful therapy of patients persistently infected with HCV was associated with restoration of serum hepcidin concentration to values similar to the control group. Differential dynamics of hepcidin during PEG-IFNα/RBV therapy in responders and non-responders might indicate the direct influence of viral eradication on iron homeostasis.

Keywords: chronic hepatitis C; hepcidin; iron homeostasis; prohepcidin; α-1-antitrypsin.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Hepcidin concentrations during treatment of patients infected with genotype 1b (A) and genotype 3a hepatitis C virus (HCV) (B). Values given as mean ± SE; *p < 0.05
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
α-1-antitrypsin concentrations during treatment of patients infected with genotype 1b (A) and genotype 3a hepatitis C virus (HCV) (B). Values given as mean ± SE; p < 0.05
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Boucher E, Bourienne A, Adams P, et al. Liver iron concentration and distribution in chronic hepatitis C before and after interferon treatment. Gut. 1997;41:115–120. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bonkovsky HL. Iron as a comorbid factor in chronic viral hepatitis. Am J Gastroenterol. 2002;97:1–4. - PubMed
    1. Franchini M, Targher G, Capra F, et al. The effect of iron depletion on chronic hepatitis C virus infection. Hepatol Int. 2008;2:335–340. - PMC - PubMed
    1. She H, Xiong S, Lin M, et al. Iron activates NF-kappaB in Kupffer cells. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol. 2002;283:G719–726. - PubMed
    1. Gardi C, Arezzini B, Fortino V, et al. Effect of free iron on collagen synthesis, cell proliferation and MMP-2 expression in rat hepatic stellate cells. Biochem Pharmacol. 2002;64:1139–1145. - PubMed