Influence of hepatitis C virus on the expression of lipid metabolism indices

Objective To investigate the influence of hepatitis C virus ( HCV) on the expression of lipid metabolism indices in vitro and in vivo. Methods A total of 114 samples of patients with HCV infection who were treated in Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University from September 2017 to September 2018 were collected as experimental group, and 96 samples of healthy individuals who underwent physical examination were collected as control group. An automatic biochemical analyzer was used to measure blood lipid parameters, including triglyceride ( TG) , total cholesterol ( TCh) , high-density lipoprotein ( HDL) , low-density lipoprotein ( LDL) , small and low-density lipoprotein ( sdLDL) , lipoprotein ( a) , apolipoprotein A1 ( ApoA1) , and apolipoprotein B ( ApoB) . RT-q PCR was used to measure the mRNA expression of fatty acid synthase ( FASN) , acetyl-CoA carboxylase ( ACACA) , hydroxymethylglutarate mono-acyl CoA reductase ( HMGR) , ApoA1, ApoB, and low-density lipoprotein receptor ( LDLR) in Huh7. 5. 1 cells with or without HCV infection. The t-test was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data between two groups, and the Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data between two groups. Results Compared with the control group, the experimental group had significantly lower serum levels of TCh ( 2. 98 ± 0. 51 mmol/L vs 4. 24 ± 0. 43 mmol/L, t = 4. 96, P < 0. 05) , HDL ( 0. 87 ± 0. 16 mmol/L vs 1. 24 ± 0. 21 mmol/L, t = 5. 65, P < 0. 05) , LDL ( 1. 75 ± 0. 24 mmol/L vs 2. 64 ± 0. 37 mmol/L, t = 3. 88, P < 0. 05) , ApoA1 ( 0. 94± 0. 18 mmol/L vs 1. 47 ± 0. 26 mmol/L, t = 3. 71, P < 0. 05) , and ApoB ( 0. 67 ± 0. 31 mmol/L vs 0. 98 ± 0. 14 mmol/L, t = 4. 41, P <0. 05) . Huh7. 5. 1 cells with HCV infection had significantly lower mRNA expression of Apo A1 than those without HCV infection ( t =-3. 43, P < 0. 05) , as well as significantly higher mRNA expression of FASN, ACACA, HMGR, ApoB, and LDLR ( t = 5. 40, 4. 93, 3. 34, 6. 88, and 3. 84, all P < 0. 05) . Conclusion HCV infection can upregulate the mRNA levels of enzymes involved in the synthesis of fatty acids and cholesterol and thus affect lipid metabolism in vivo and in vitro.