Viruses (Oct 2022)

Expression of SARS-Cov-2 Entry Factors in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis

  • Chiara Rosso,
  • Cristina Demelas,
  • Greta Agostini,
  • Maria Lorena Abate,
  • Marta Vernero,
  • Gian Paolo Caviglia,
  • Daphne D’Amato,
  • Angelo Armandi,
  • Marta Tapparo,
  • Marta Guariglia,
  • Giulia Troshina,
  • Alessandro Massano,
  • Antonella Olivero,
  • Aurora Nicolosi,
  • Antonella Zannetti,
  • Rinaldo Pellicano,
  • Alessia Ciancio,
  • Giorgio Maria Saracco,
  • Davide Giuseppe Ribaldone,
  • Elisabetta Bugianesi,
  • Sharmila Fagoonee

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/v14112397
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 14, no. 11
p. 2397

Abstract

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Chronic hepatitis (CH) of dysmetabolic or viral etiology has been associated with poor prognosis in patients who experienced the severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus-2 (SARS-Cov-2) infection. We aimed to explore the impact of SARS-Cov-2 infection on disease severity in a group of patients with CH. Forty-two patients with CH of different etiology were enrolled (median age, 56 years; male gender, 59%). ACE2 and TMPRSS2 were measured in plasma samples of all patients by ELISA and in the liver tissue of a subgroup of 15 patients by Western blot. Overall, 13 patients (31%) experienced SARS-Cov-2 infection: 2/15 (15%) had CHB, 5/12 (39%) had CHC, and 6/15 (46%) had non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Compared to viral CH patients, NAFLD subjects showed higher circulating ACE2 levels (p = 0.0019). Similarly, hepatic expression of ACE2 was higher in subjects who underwent SARS-Cov-2 infection compared to the counterpart, (3.24 ± 1.49 vs. 1.49 ± 1.32, p = 0.032). Conversely, hepatic TMPRSS2 was significantly lower in patients who experienced symptomatic COVID-19 disease compared to asymptomatic patients (p = 0.0038). Further studies are necessary to understand the impact of COVID-19 in patients with pre-existing liver diseases.

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