Data from: Influence of hepatitis C virus and IL28B genotypes on liver stiffness

Objective: Liver fibrosis has been associated with hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype and genetic variation near the interleukin 28B (IL28B) gene, but the relative contribution is unknown. We aimed to investigate the relation between HCV genotypes, IL28B and development of liver stiffness. Patients and Methods: This cross-sectional study consists of 369 patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC). Liver stiffness was evaluated using transient elastograhy (TE). Factors associated with development of liver fibrosis were identified by logistic regression analysis. Results: We identified 369 patients with CHC. 235 were male, 297 Caucasians, and 223 had been exposed to HCV through intravenous drug use. The overall median TE value was 7.4 kPa (interquartile range (IQR) 5.7–12.1). HCV replication was enhanced in patients carrying the IL28B CC genotype compared to TT and TC (5.8 vs. 5.4 log10 IU/mL, p = 0.03). Patients infected with HCV genotype 3 had significantly higher TE values (8.2 kPa; IQR, 5.9–14.5) compared to genotype 1 (6.9 kPa; IQR, 5.4–10.9) and 2 (6.7 kPa; IQR, 4.9–8.8) (p = 0.02). Within patients with genotype 3, IL28B CC genotype had the highest TE values (p = 0.04). However, in multivariate logistic regression, using various cut-off values for fibrosis and cirrhosis, only increasing age (odds ratio (OR) 1.09 (95% confidence interval (CI), 1.05–1.14 per year increment)), ALT (OR 1.01 (95% CI, 1.002–1.011), per unit increment) and HCV genotype 3 compared to genotype 1 (OR 2.40 (95% CI, 1.19–4.81), were consistently associated with cirrhosis (TE>17.1 kPa). Conclusions: Age, ALT and infection with HCV genotype 3 were associated with cirrhosis assessed by TE. However, IL28B genotype was not an independent predictor of fibrosis in our study.研究背景与目的：肝纤维化与丙型肝炎病毒（hepatitis C virus, HCV）基因型以及白细胞介素28B（interleukin 28B, IL28B）基因附近的遗传变异存在关联，但二者的相对贡献尚不明确。本研究旨在探讨HCV基因型、IL28B与肝硬度进展之间的关联。 研究对象与方法：本研究为横断面研究，共纳入369例慢性丙型肝炎（chronic hepatitis C, CHC）患者。采用瞬时弹性成像（transient elastography, TE）检测肝硬度；通过logistic回归分析明确与肝纤维化进展相关的危险因素。 研究结果：本研究共纳入369例慢性丙型肝炎患者，其中男性235例，白种人297例，223例患者经静脉吸毒途径暴露于HCV。所有患者的中位TE值为7.4 kPa，四分位距（interquartile range, IQR）为5.7~12.1 kPa。与携带IL28B TT、TC基因型的患者相比，携带CC基因型的患者HCV复制水平更高（5.8 vs 5.4 log10 IU/mL，P=0.03）。感染HCV基因型3的患者TE值显著高于基因型1（6.9 kPa, IQR:5.4~10.9 kPa）和基因型2（6.7 kPa, IQR:4.9~8.8 kPa）患者，分别为8.2 kPa（IQR:5.9~14.5 kPa），P=0.02。在基因型3感染的患者中，携带IL28B CC基因型者的TE值最高（P=0.04）。然而，在采用不同纤维化及肝硬化截断值的多因素logistic回归分析中，仅年龄增长[比值比（odds ratio, OR）=1.09，95%置信区间（confidence interval, CI）：1.05~1.14，每年龄增量]、丙氨酸氨基转移酶（ALT）升高[OR=1.01，95%CI：1.002~1.011，每单位增量]以及HCV基因型3相较于基因型1感染[OR=2.40，95%CI：1.19~4.81]与肝硬化（TE>17.1 kPa）始终存在显著关联。 研究结论：年龄、ALT水平以及HCV基因型3感染与通过TE检测判定的肝硬化显著相关。但在本研究中，IL28B基因型并非肝纤维化的独立预测因子。