Copado-Villagrana Edgar D, Pizuorno Antonio, García-Suárez Adrián, Abarca Julio C, DuPont Gisela, Jaramillo-Bueno Socorro, Fierro Nora A
General Hospital of Zone Number 5, Mexican Social Security Institute, Nogales 84094, Mexico.
Department of Internal Medicine, Health Science Center, The University of Texas, Houston 77030, USA.
Ann Hepatol. 2023 Sep-Oct;28(5):101117. doi: 10.1016/j.aohep.2023.101117. Epub 2023 Jun 1.
Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is not routinely screened in blood banks in low- and middle-income countries, and no specific biomarkers of exposure to this virus have yet been identified. We aimed to identify HEV seropositivity and detect virus RNA among blood donors from Mexico to further correlate risk factors related to infection and levels of interleukin-18 (IL-18) and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) as potential biomarkers.
This cross-sectional, single-center study included 691 serum samples of blood donors obtained in 2019. Anti-HEV IgG and IgM antibodies were detected in sera and the viral genome was screened in pooled samples. A statistical comparison of risk factors for infection, demographic and clinical features was performed; IL-18 and IFN- γ values were tested in sera.
Of all the individuals, 9.4% were positive for anti-HEV antibodies and viral RNA detection was confirmed in one of the pools positive for anti-HEV. From the analysis of risk factors, age and having pets were statistically significant for anti-HEV antibody detection. Seropositive samples showed significantly higher IL-18 concentrations relative to samples from seronegative donors. Interestingly, IL-18 values were similar when HEV seropositive samples were compared to samples from clinically acute previously confirmed HEV patients.
Our findings highlight the need to follow up on HEV in blood banks in Mexico and underscore that IL-18 could represent a biomarker of HEV exposure.
在低收入和中等收入国家的血库中，戊型肝炎病毒（HEV）并非常规筛查项目，且尚未确定该病毒暴露的特异性生物标志物。我们旨在确定墨西哥献血者中的HEV血清阳性率并检测病毒RNA，以进一步关联与感染相关的风险因素以及白细胞介素-18（IL-18）和干扰素-γ（IFN-γ）水平作为潜在生物标志物。
这项横断面单中心研究纳入了2019年采集的691份献血者血清样本。检测血清中的抗HEV IgG和IgM抗体，并在混合样本中筛查病毒基因组。对感染的风险因素、人口统计学和临床特征进行了统计学比较；检测血清中的IL-18和IFN-γ值。
在所有个体中，9.4%的抗HEV抗体呈阳性，且在一份抗HEV阳性的混合样本中确认检测到病毒RNA。从风险因素分析来看，年龄和养宠物与抗HEV抗体检测在统计学上具有显著意义。血清阳性样本的IL-18浓度相对于血清阴性献血者的样本显著更高。有趣的是，将HEV血清阳性样本与先前确诊为临床急性HEV患者的样本进行比较时，IL-18值相似。
我们的研究结果凸显了墨西哥血库对HEV进行随访的必要性，并强调IL-18可能代表HEV暴露的生物标志物。
