15-22, 26-30 The direct relationship between LDLc and SVR may partially be explained by competition

for LDL receptor sites preventing viral entry into hepatocytes, increasing exposure of HCV to the host immune response in the serum. These findings suggest that serum lipids may yield some prognostic value in determining Selleckchem Galunisertib the probability of treatment success and possibly highlight new therapeutic targets. Further prospective investigation of the impacts of dietary modification and lipid-lowering agents on virological response may be warranted. Treatment trials investigating statins and fibrates to improve virological response have yielded mixed results.40-42 As documented in the Virahep-C cohort,43 insulin resistance

may also contribute to the relationship between serum lipids and SVR. In conclusion, this study suggests that serum lipid measures are predictors of SVR, but that their predictive ability is ameliorated by race such that these measures do not explain the racial disparity in treatment efficacy between CAs and AAs. However, this study underscores the potential relevance of serum lipids to virological MG-132 solubility dmso response. Future investigations may seek to assess relationships between SVR, other characterizations relevant to serum lipids, and genetic determinants of lipid metabolism. Additional Supporting Information may be found in the online version of this article. “
“1600 Clifton Road NE, Demeclocycline E-47, Atlanta, GA 30333 Chronic hepatitis

B virus (HBV) infection is a major health issue, especially in Asia. A recent genome-wide association study (GWAS) implicated genetic variants in the human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-DP locus associated with chronic hepatitis B in Japanese and Thai populations. To confirm whether the polymorphisms at the HLA-DP genes are associated with persistent chronic HBV infection in Han Chinese, we conducted an independent case-control study using 521 persistent chronic HBV carriers and 819 controls that included 571 persons with HBV natural clearance and 248 never HBV-infected (healthy) individuals. Eleven single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in a region including HLA-DPA and HLA-DPB and an adjacent SNP in strong linkage disequilibrium (LD) with a neighboring HLA-DR13 locus were genotyped using the TaqMan SNP genotyping assay. Eleven variants at HLA-DP showed a strong association with persistent chronic HBV carrier status (P = 1.82 × 10−12 to 0.01). We also stratified the analysis by HBV clearance status to test the association between these polymorphisms and HBV natural clearance; similar results were obtained (P = 2.70 × 10−11 to 0.003). Included SNPs define highly structured haplotypes that were also strongly associated with HBV chronic infection (block 1: odds ratio [OR] = 0.54, P = 8.73 × 10−7; block 2: OR = 1.98, P = 1.37 × 10−10).