Changes in Serum Level of Autotaxin with Direct-Acting Antiviral Therapy in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C as a Biomarker for Predicting Hepatic Fibrosis

Abstract

epatitis c virus is global health burden and major health hazard in Egypt, since the virus is the etiological factor of chronic hepatitis that frequently progress to a cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Fibrosis and subsequent cirrhosis is lengthy process that needs years to develop. This process is also potentially reversible over time with treatment of HCV infection.The adventage of oral direct-acting antivirals (DAA) has modified the prognosis of hepatitis C, since HCV eradication occurs in most treated patients with the achievement of sustained virological response 12 weeks after completion of treatment (SVR12) has been associated with improvements in liver function, and declines in clinical complications and all-causes of mortality. The aim of this study was to validate Changes in serum level of autotaxin in patients with chronic hepatitis C before and after antiviral treatment for prediction of liver fibrosis In Comparison with other markers of fibrosis (fib-4, APRI) score. Autotaxin (ATX) is a secreted enzyme originally discovered in conditioned medium from A2058 human melanoma cell cultures. ATX has an important enzymatic function in converting lysophosphatidylcholine to lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), which has various physiological roles in cell migration,