Office of Public Relations — Newsroom
News Release
For Immediate Release:
Contact: Jim Spencer 303-315-0554; 720-346-4242, Jim.Spencer@uchsc.edu
School of Medicine Doc Studies Way to Spare Suffering in Hepatitis C Treatment
AURORA, Col. (May 26, 2008) - Researchers at the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine are working on ways to spare unresponsive patients from long, painful and ultimately ineffective treatment for the hepatitis C virus.
The study involves dendritic cells – the most potent stimulator of T cells, which are needed to fight hepatitis C infection.
Treatment for the hepatitis C virus, a viral infection affecting the liver, typically involves 48 weeks of combination antiviral therapy. This therapy causes flu-like symptoms for patients. Yet only half of those who endure the long, sickening treatment for the virus known as HCV find relief.
Working with participants in the Virahep-C study, UC Denver School of Medicine researchers examined 64 patients with genotype 1 HCV, the most common strain of the virus and the one that is hardest to treat. Investigators led by Dr. Hugo Rosen division chief of gastroenterology and hepatology along with Dr. John A. Mengshol, a fellow in the department of gastroenterology and hepatology, studied blood samples from each patient prior to treatment and 24 weeks after undergoing HCV therapy. Investigators measured the frequency of plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) and myeloid dendritic cells (mDCs). They also measured the median fluorescence intensities of chemokine receptors and maturation markers.
Researchers found that before treatment, frequencies of pDCs and mDCs were significantly lower in HCV patients than those without the virus. Investigators found that some - but not all - inflammatory chemokine receptors and maturation markers were higher in HVC patients compared to those without the virus. This suggested that the maturation process was incomplete in those with hepatitis C.
In addition, Mengshol and his team found that the levels of pDC cells in those who responded to therapy became normal, while the pDC cells remained low in those who didn’t respond to therapy. Levels of maturation markers and chemokine receptors also normalized in patients who responded to therapy.
Finally, researchers determined that hepatitis C patients whose pDC cells migrated most quickly to chemokines were less likely to respond to therapy, an unexpected finding.
“If we are able to use DC cells studies to predetermine who will respond to therapy and who will not, we can spare some patients from a long and painful 48 week regimen that is ultimately ineffective,” said Mengshol. “Further, this research tells us that the DC cells may hold the key to finding improved therapy for chronic HCV patients.”
Mengshol presented his data last week at a plenary session of the Digestive Disease Week conference in San Diego.
Digestive Disease Week® 2008 (DDW®) is the largest international gathering of physicians, researchers and academics in the fields of gastroenterology, hepatology, endoscopy and gastrointestinal surgery. Jointly sponsored by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute, the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) and the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract (SSAT), the meeting showcases more than 5,000 abstracts and hundreds of lectures on the latest advances in GI research, medicine and technology.
The School of Medicine faculty work to advance science and improve care as the physicians, educators and scientists at University of Colorado Hospital, The Children’s Hospital, Denver Health, National Jewish Medical and Research Center, and the Denver Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Degrees offered by the UC Denver School of Medicine include doctor of medicine, doctor of physical therapy, and masters of physician assistant studies. The School is part of the University of Colorado Denver, one of three universities in the University of Colorado system. For additional news and information, please visit the UC Denver newsroom online.
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