Marascio N, Rotundo S, Quirino A, Matera G, Liberto MC, Costa C, Russo A, Trecarichi EM, Torti C. Similarities, differences, and possible interactions between hepatitis E and hepatitis C viruses: Relevance for research and clinical practice . World J Gastroenterol 2022; 28(12): 1226-1238 [PMID: 35431515 DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v28.i12.1226]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Carlo Torti, FRSM, Professor, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Unit of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, "Magna Graecia" University of Catanzaro, Loc. Germaneto, Viale Europa, Catanzaro 88100, Italy. torti@unicz.it
Research Domain of This Article
Virology
Article-Type of This Article
Minireviews
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Gastroenterol. Mar 28, 2022; 28(12): 1226-1238 Published online Mar 28, 2022. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v28.i12.1226
Similarities, differences, and possible interactions between hepatitis E and hepatitis C viruses: Relevance for research and clinical practice
Nadia Marascio, Salvatore Rotundo, Angela Quirino, Giovanni Matera, Maria Carla Liberto, Chiara Costa, Alessandro Russo, Enrico Maria Trecarichi, Carlo Torti
Nadia Marascio, Angela Quirino, Giovanni Matera, Maria Carla Liberto, Department of Health Sciences, Unit of Microbiology, University “Magna Graecia” of Catanzaro, Catanzaro 88100, Italy
Salvatore Rotundo, Chiara Costa, Alessandro Russo, Enrico Maria Trecarichi, Carlo Torti, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Unit of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, "Magna Graecia" University of Catanzaro, Catanzaro 88100, Italy
Author contributions: Marascio N, Rotundo S, and Torti C, performed the conception, drafted the article and making critical revisions; Quirino A, Matera G, Liberto MC, Costa C, Russo A, and Trecarichi EM, maked critical revision and contributed for important intellectual contents; all authors approved the final version.
Supported byPON Research and Innovation 2014-2020 (Nadia Marascio), Attraction and International Mobility programme, No. Proposal Code_ Activity AIM1879147_1.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Authors declare no conflict of interests for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Carlo Torti, FRSM, Professor, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Unit of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, "Magna Graecia" University of Catanzaro, Loc. Germaneto, Viale Europa, Catanzaro 88100, Italy. torti@unicz.it
Received: November 5, 2021 Peer-review started: November 5, 2021 First decision: December 26, 2021 Revised: January 6, 2022 Accepted: February 23, 2022 Article in press: February 23, 2022 Published online: March 28, 2022 Processing time: 139 Days and 17.3 Hours
Abstract
Hepatitis E virus (HEV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) are both RNA viruses with a tropism for liver parenchyma but are also capable of extrahepatic manifestations. Hepatitis E is usually a viral acute fecal-oral transmitted and self-limiting disease presenting with malaise, jaundice, nausea and vomiting. Rarely, HEV causes a chronic infection in immunocompromised persons and severe fulminant hepatitis in pregnant women. Parenteral HCV infection is typically asymptomatic for decades until chronic complications, such as cirrhosis and cancer, occur. Despite being two very different viruses in terms of phylogenetic and clinical presentations, HEV and HCV show many similarities regarding possible transmission through organ transplantation and blood transfusion, pathogenesis (production of antinuclear antibodies and cryoglobulins) and response to treatment with some direct-acting antiviral drugs. Although both HEV and HCV are well studied individually, there is a lack of knowledge about coinfection and its consequences. The aim of this review is to analyze current literature by evaluating original articles and case reports and to hypothesize some interactions that can be useful for research and clinical practice.
Core Tip: Hepatitis E virus (HEV) and Hepatitis C virus (HCV) are both RNA viruses characterized by greater variability than DNA viruses and mainly infect the liver. Despite these similarities, the two viruses have different species barriers and disease progression. Coinfection with particular HCV and HEV types could aggravate hepatic and/or extrahepatic diseases, taking into account virus–host interactions between the two viruses during viral replication.
