The Impact of Everolimus Based Immunosuppression in the Evolution of Hepatitis C Fibrosis After Liver Transplantation

Summary

Background: Hepatitis C recurrence, which invariably occurs in viremic liver transplant (LT) recipients, associated with accelerated liver fibrosis leading to established graft cirrhosis in 40-20% of patients in 5 years with another 5% experiencing an aggressive form with cirrhosis and graft loss in 1 year. Since treatment after LT has a low efficacy, the overall survival of HCV-infected LT recipients is shorter than that of uninfected LT patients. New immunosuppressive agents such as mTOR inhibitors (Everolimus/Sirolimus) reduce the risk of liver graft rejection, have antifibrotic properties and do not worsen HCV recurrence. Moreover new directly-acting antiviral agents have increased efficacy of interferon-based treatment but their use in LT recipients may be limited by side effects. Hypothesis: Use of individualized immunosuppressive regimen and early personalized anti-viral treatment based on recipient and viral factors would improve outcome of HCV infected liver transplant recipients. Objectives: 1. To evaluate safety and efficacy of two steroid-free immunosuppressive regimens to reduce hepatitis C recurrence associated to fibrosis progression (F≥2 under ISHAK score) at one year post-transplant. 2. To identify viral and recipient factors associated with liver fibrosis progression using ultra-deep pyrosequencing (UDPS).

Timeline

Start

2012-10

Primary completion

2016-08

Completion

2016-08

Publications

• Background Biecker E, De Gottardi A, Neef M, Unternahrer M, Schneider V, Ledermann M, Sagesser H, Shaw S, Reichen J. Long-term treatment of bile duct-ligated rats with rapamycin (sirolimus) significantly attenuates liver fibrosis: analysis of the underlying mechanisms. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 2005 Jun;313(3):952-61. doi: 10.1124/jpet.104.079616. Epub 2005 Mar 15.
• Background Neef M, Ledermann M, Saegesser H, Schneider V, Reichen J. Low-dose oral rapamycin treatment reduces fibrogenesis, improves liver function, and prolongs survival in rats with established liver cirrhosis. J Hepatol. 2006 Dec;45(6):786-96. doi: 10.1016/j.jhep.2006.07.030. Epub 2006 Sep 22.
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• Background Thomas DL, Thio CL, Martin MP, Qi Y, Ge D, O'Huigin C, Kidd J, Kidd K, Khakoo SI, Alexander G, Goedert JJ, Kirk GD, Donfield SM, Rosen HR, Tobler LH, Busch MP, McHutchison JG, Goldstein DB, Carrington M. Genetic variation in IL28B and spontaneous clearance of hepatitis C virus. Nature. 2009 Oct 8;461(7265):798-801. doi: 10.1038/nature08463.
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• Background Suppiah V, Moldovan M, Ahlenstiel G, Berg T, Weltman M, Abate ML, Bassendine M, Spengler U, Dore GJ, Powell E, Riordan S, Sheridan D, Smedile A, Fragomeli V, Muller T, Bahlo M, Stewart GJ, Booth DR, George J. IL28B is associated with response to chronic hepatitis C interferon-alpha and ribavirin therapy. Nat Genet. 2009 Oct;41(10):1100-4. doi: 10.1038/ng.447. Epub 2009 Sep 13.
• Background Tanaka Y, Nishida N, Sugiyama M, Kurosaki M, Matsuura K, Sakamoto N, Nakagawa M, Korenaga M, Hino K, Hige S, Ito Y, Mita E, Tanaka E, Mochida S, Murawaki Y, Honda M, Sakai A, Hiasa Y, Nishiguchi S, Koike A, Sakaida I, Imamura M, Ito K, Yano K, Masaki N, Sugauchi F, Izumi N, Tokunaga K, Mizokami M. Genome-wide association of IL28B with response to pegylated interferon-alpha and ribavirin therapy for chronic hepatitis C. Nat Genet. 2009 Oct;41(10):1105-9. doi: 10.1038/ng.449. Epub 2009 Sep 13.
• Background Smith KR, Suppiah V, O'Connor K, Berg T, Weltman M, Abate ML, Spengler U, Bassendine M, Matthews G, Irving WL, Powell E, Riordan S, Ahlenstiel G, Stewart GJ, Bahlo M, George J, Booth DR; International Hepatitis C Genetics Consortium (IHCGC). Identification of improved IL28B SNPs and haplotypes for prediction of drug response in treatment of hepatitis C using massively parallel sequencing in a cross-sectional European cohort. Genome Med. 2011 Aug 31;3(8):57. doi: 10.1186/gm273.

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