41, 95% confidence interval = 1.16–5.00, P = 0.02). Serum FST levels are significantly associated with HCC prognosis and could represent a predictive Panobinostat supplier biomarker in this disease. “
“The role of autophagy in disease pathogenesis following viral infection is beginning to be elucidated. We have previously reported that hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in hepatocytes induces autophagy. However, the biological significance of HCV-induced autophagy has not been clarified. Autophagy has recently been identified as a novel component of the innate immune system against viral infection. In this study, we found that knockdown of autophagy-related protein

beclin 1 (BCN1) or autophagy-related protein 7 (ATG7) in immortalized human hepatocytes (IHHs) inhibited HCV growth. BCN1- or ATG7-knockdown IHHs, when they were infected with HCV, exhibited increased

expression of interferon-β, 2′,5′-oligoadenylate synthetase 1, interferon-α, and interferon-α–inducible protein 27 messenger RNAs of the interferon signaling pathways in comparison with infected control IHHs. A subsequent study check details demonstrated that HCV infection in autophagy-impaired IHHs displayed caspase activation, poly(adenosine diphosphate ribose) polymerase cleavage, and apoptotic cell death. Conclusion: The disruption of autophagy machinery in HCV-infected hepatocytes activates the interferon signaling pathway and induces apoptosis. Together, these results suggest that HCV-induced autophagy impairs the innate immune MCE response. (HEPATOLOGY 2011;53:406-414) Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection affects nearly 3.3 million people and is the most common cause of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma in the United States.1 The currently approved therapy for the treatment of HCV is pegylated interferon

in combination with ribavirin.2, 3 Although several advances have shown promise in improving the management of HCV infection, nevertheless, it remains a major health problem.4-6 HCV is a member of the Flaviviridae family, and its genome contains a positive-strand RNA approximately 9.6 kb long. The HCV genome encodes a polyprotein precursor of approximately 3000 amino acids that is cleaved by both viral and host proteases into structural (core, E1, E2, and p7) and nonstructural proteins [nonstructural protein 2 (NS2), NS3, NS4A, NS4B, NS5A, and NS5B]. HCV-infected cells accumulate lipid droplets and play an important role in the assembly of virus particles.7-9 Autophagy is a catabolic process by which cells remove their own damaged organelles and long-lived proteins for the maintenance of cellular homeostasis. During autophagy, the double-membrane vesicles engulf the damaged organelles and eventually fuse with the lysosomes for degradation.