High level of serum cholesteryl ester transfer protein in active hepatitis C virus infection

Figure 1 Comparison of the serum cholesteryl ester transfer protein level between the active hepatitis C virus infection group and the hepatitis C virus eradication group. The serum CETP level was significantly higher in patients with active HCV infection than those in whom HCV eradication was achieved (2.84 ± 1.00 μg/mL vs 2.40 ± 0.70 μg/mL, P = 0.008). CETP: Cholesterol ester transfer protein; HCV: Hepatitis C virus.

Figure 2 Correlation between the cholesteryl ester transfer protein level and triglyceride concentration in the four major lipoprotein classes in the hepatitis C virus eradication group and the active hepatitis C virus infection group. A: The CETP level had a weak correlation with HDL cholesterol in the active HCV infection group (R = 0.324, P = 0.015) and a weak, inverse correlation with chylomicron-cholesterol (R = -0.290, P = 0.031); B: The CETP level had a strong correlation with HDL-TG in the active HCV infection group (R = 0.557, P < 0.001). However, significant correlations with TG for other lipoprotein classes were not detected in the active HCV group. HCV: Hepatitis C virus; CM: Chylomicron; VLDL: Very-low-density lipoprotein; LDL: Low-density lipoprotein; HDL: High-density lipoprotein; TG: Triglyceride.