Serum autotaxin levels in responders to HCV treatment by direct-acting antivirals

Abstract

Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is considered one of the main causes of chronic liver disease around the world. Liver biopsy has been believed to be the gold standard for the assessment of the degree of liver fibrosis. Thus, there is a need to improve non-invasive evaluation of liver fibrosis. The aim of the present study was to study the changes in serum levels of ATX (Autotaxin) as a marker of hepatic fibrosis in responders to HCV treatment by DAAs. This prospective study was carried out at hepatology outpatient clinics for HCV treatment in Mansoura Specialized Medical Hospital that involved 54 participants: 34 patients with HCV and 20 controls; ATX was measured for the controls and all patients before and after treatment. Results: We found a significant higher ATX level in control subjects vs HCV patients, 100% of control subjects had ATX > 97.5 and 58.8% of HCV had ATX ≤ 97.5. Also, a significantly higher ATX after treatment with DAAs as a whole was observed. Conclusion: The authors concluded that ATX should be considered cautiously as a diagnostic marker for liver fibrosis in Egyptian patients with chronic hepatitis C infection. Although this study yielded negative results, this may be important to prevent duplication of the research efforts.