HDL biology
Active hepatitis C infection is associated with higher serum CETP and HDL triglyceride than after viral eradication (World J Hepatol 2016)
Original title: High level of serum cholesteryl ester transfer protein in active hepatitis C virus infection
Comparing 55 Japanese patients with active chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection against 55 patients in whom HCV had been eradicated, researchers found serum CETP significantly higher in active infection (2.84 plus or minus 0.69 versus 2.40 plus or minus 1.00 microgram/mL, P=0.008), with HCV infection status an independent predictor of CETP level in multiple regression. Triglyceride concentrations were also significantly higher in active infection within LDL (36.25 versus 28.14 microgram/mL, P=0.001) and HDL (25.9 versus 17.17 microgram/mL, P less than 0.001), and CETP level correlated strongly with HDL-triglyceride in patients with active HCV, linking ongoing viral infection to CETP-driven lipoprotein abnormalities that resolve with viral eradication.
Original abstract
Aim: To determine the significance of cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) in lipoprotein abnormalities in chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.
Methods: We evaluated the significance of the serum concentration of CETP in 110 Japanese patients with chronic HCV infection. Fifty-five patients had active HCV infection, and HCV eradication had been achieved in 55. The role of CETP in serum lipoprotein abnormalities, specifically, in triglyceride (TG) concentrations in the four major classes of lipoproteins, was investigated using Pearson correlations in conjunction with multiple regression analysis and compared them between those with active HCV infection and those in whom eradication had been achieved.
Results: The serum CETP levels of patients with active HCV infection were significantly higher than those of patients in whom HCV eradication was achieved (mean ± SD, 2.84 ± 0.69 μg/mL vs 2.40 ± 1.00 μg/mL, P = 0.008). In multiple regression analysis, HCV infection status (active or eradicated) was an independent factor significantly associated with the serum CETP level. TG concentrations in low-density lipoprotein (mean ± SD, 36.25 ± 15.28 μg/mL vs 28.14 ± 9.94 μg/mL, P = 0.001) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) (mean ± SD, 25.9 ± 7.34 μg/mL vs 17.17 ± 4.82 μg/mL, P < 0.001) were significantly higher in patients with active HCV infection than in those in whom HCV eradication was achieved. The CETP level was strongly correlated with HDL-TG in patients with active HCV infection (R = 0.557, P < 0.001), whereas CETP was not correlated with HDL-TG in patients in whom HCV eradication was achieved (R = -0.079, P = 0.56).
Conclusion: Our results indicate that CETP plays a role in abnormalities of lipoprotein metabolism in patients with chronic HCV infection.
Summary written by cetpinhibition.org from the published abstract; figures as published. Page updated 19 August 2026. Methods.