Zahedi Mohammad Javad, Shafieipour Sara, Hayatbakhsh Abassi Mohammad Mahdi, Pourjamali Nader, Nakhaie Mohsen, Charostad Javad, Rezaei Zadeh Rukerd Mohammad, Lashkarizadeh Mohammad Mehdi, Karami Robati Fatemeh, Dehghani Azam, Jahani Yunes, Arabzadeh Seyed Ali Mohammad, Mollaei Hamid Reza, Ranjbar Ebrahim
Gastroenterology and Hepatology Research Center, Institute of Basic and Clinical Physiology Sciences, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
Physiology Research Center, Institute of Neuropharmacology, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
Iran J Pathol. 2023 Spring;18(2):125-133. doi: 10.30699/IJP.2023.551657.2870. Epub 2023 Jun 20.
BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: Occurrence of Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) infection may be common in Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV-1) patients and may lead to chronic infection as well as cirrhosis. We intended to determine the incidence of HEV infection among HIV-1 patients compared to individuals without HIV-1 infection.
In our cross-sectional study, 87 HIV-1-positive patients were compared to 93 healthy individuals in Kerman, Iran. Plasma and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were obtained from all the participants. Plasma samples were evaluated for HEV IgM and IgG using the ELISA kit. Then, reverse transcriptase-nested polymerase chain reaction (RT-nested PCR) was used in RNA extractions from PBMCs to check for the presence of HEV RNA.
Among the subjects examined in our study, 61 (70.1%) and 71 (77.4%) out of patients with HIV-1 infection and healthy individuals were male, respectively. The average ages of patients with HIV-1 and the control group were 40.2 years and 39.9 years, respectively. No discernible differences were found between the two groups based on IgM and IgG seropositivity against the HEV. However, HEV-RNA was found in 8% of patients with HIV-1 and 1.1% of HIV-1-negative individuals (P=0.03). There was also an association between the HEV genome and anti-HEV and anti-HCV antibodies in HIV-1-positive patients (P=0.02 and P=0.014, respectively).
HEV infection may be more common in HIV-1 patients and may develop a chronic infection in immunocompromised individuals. Molecular-based HEV diagnostic tests, including RT-PCR assays, should be performed in HIV-1 patients with unknown impaired liver function tests.
戊型肝炎病毒（HEV）感染在人类免疫缺陷病毒（HIV-1）患者中可能很常见，并可能导致慢性感染以及肝硬化。我们旨在确定与未感染HIV-1的个体相比，HIV-1患者中HEV感染的发生率。
在我们的横断面研究中，将伊朗克尔曼的87例HIV-1阳性患者与93名健康个体进行了比较。从所有参与者中获取血浆和外周血单个核细胞（PBMC）。使用ELISA试剂盒评估血浆样本中的HEV IgM和IgG。然后，采用逆转录巢式聚合酶链反应（RT-巢式PCR）从PBMC中提取RNA，以检查HEV RNA的存在情况。
在我们研究的受试者中，HIV-1感染患者和健康个体中分别有61例（70.1%）和71例（77.4%）为男性。HIV-1患者和对照组的平均年龄分别为40.2岁和39.9岁。基于针对HEV的IgM和IgG血清阳性率，两组之间未发现明显差异。然而，在8%的HIV-1患者和1.1%的HIV-1阴性个体中发现了HEV-RNA（P=0.03）。在HIV-1阳性患者中，HEV基因组与抗HEV和抗HCV抗体之间也存在关联（分别为P=0.02和P=0.014）。
HEV感染在HIV-1患者中可能更常见，并且在免疫功能低下的个体中可能发展为慢性感染。对于肝功能检查不明原因受损的HIV-1患者，应进行包括RT-PCR检测在内的基于分子的HEV诊断试验。
