studies

1104A AASLD ABSTRACTS HEPATOLOGY, October, 2015
care clinic to screen persons born between 1945-1965 for
HCV antibodies, and linking of viremic individuals to care.
Emory University and Morehouse School of Medicine residents
practicing in the Grady Memorial Hospital Primary Care Center
(Atlanta, GA, USA) received one-on-one training regarding
birth cohort screening, as well as an electronic medical record
reminder prompt. Residents screened primary care patients,
and project staff followed up positive HCV Ab tests and performed
outreach and linkage to care. HCV Ab positive persons
who attended an appointment at the Grady Primary Care
Center, Grady Liver Clinic, or Infectious Disease Clinic during
which the positive HCV test was addressed and further work-up
ordered were counted as linked to care. Results: In a birth
cohort population that was 92.5% Black/African American,
412 (7.9%) of 5,239 patients screened for hepatitis C had
HCV antibodies. HCV RNA testing was completed for 90%
of the seropositive patients, and 70% were viremic. Of 258
patients with a positive RNA test, 229 (89%) were referred to
care, and 212 (82%) referred patients attended a linkage visit.
Conclusions: The TILT-C screening program was found to be
feasible and effective. The program was successful in detecting
previously undiagnosed chronic hepatitis C infections and linking
persons to care in an urban primary care center.
TILTC: HCV Testing and Linkage Cascade
Disclosures:
Lesley Miller - Advisory Committees or Review Panels: Bristol Myers Squibb
Anne C. Spaulding - Grant/Research Support: Gilead Sciences, BMS
The following authors have nothing to disclose: Brandi Park, Nyiramugisha Niyibizi,
April D. Elam, Francois Rollin, Shelly-Ann Fluker
1836
WITHDRAWN
1837
Cannabinoid receptor 2 (CB2) 63 RR variant is associated
with immune-mediated disorders in patients with
chronic HCV infection
Nicola Coppola 1 , Rosa Zampino 2 , Giulia Bellini 3 , Maria Stanzione
4 , Nicolina Capoluongo 1 , Aldo Marrone 2 , Margherita
Macera 1 , Adriana Boemio 2 , Sabatino Maione 3 , Luigi Adinolfi 2 ,
Emanuele Miraglia del Giudice 5 , Evangelista Sagnelli 1 , Francesca
Rossi 5 ; 1 Mental Health and Public Medicine, Second University of
Naples, Naples, Italy; 2 Internal Medicine and Hepatology, Second
University of Naples, Naples, Italy; 3 Department of Experimental
Medicine, Second University of Naples, Naples, Italy; 4 Department
of Clinical and Experimental Medicine and Surgery, Second
University of Naples, Naples, Italy; 5 Department of Woman, Child
and of General and Specialized Surgery, Second University of
Naples, Naples, Italy
Background: Patients with HCV chronic infection frequently
show immune-mediated disorders (IMDs). The Cannabinoid
(CB) receptor 2, predominantly expressed in the immune cells,
plays an important role on the function of the immune system.
In particular, the CB2-63 variants (rs35761398) affects the
ability of the CB2 receptor to exert its inhibitory function on T
lymphocyte. Aims: to evaluate whether CB2 variants are associated
with the presence of IMDs in patients with chronic HCV
infection. Methods: Considering that nearly 30% of anti-HCV
positive patients are affected by IMDs, we planned a 12-month
recruitment period for treatment-naïve anti-HCV positive patients
with signs of IMD and a 4-month period for treatment-naïve
anti-HCV patients lacking these signs. The enrollment stared
in September 2013 and at the end of the recruitment periods
168 patients have been selected, 81 anti-HCV/HCV-RNA positive
with signs of IMDs and 87 anti-HCV/HCV-RNA positive
with no sign of IMDs. The presence of IMDs was defined by
at least one of the following conditions: ANA positivity (titers
≥1:160) observed in 22 (27.2%) cases, SMA positivity (titers
≥1:160) in 3 (3.7%), a cryocrite >2% in 24 (29.6%), history
or active autoimmune thyroiditis in 25 (30.9%), psoriasis in 4
(4.9%), B-cells non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2 (2.5%) and autoimmune
hemolytic anemia in 1 (1.2%) case; no patient showed
signs of lichen planus nor Syogren syndrome. All patients were
screened for the CNR2 rs35761398 SNP by a TaqMan Assay
Results: Compared with the 87 patients lacking IMDs, the 81
in the IMDs group more frequently were females (65% vs 45%,
p=0.01), but not other significant difference was found in initial
demographic, epidemiologic, serological, biochemical and
virological data. In particular, the age (mean+SD: 53±14.1 vs.
52.9±13.4 years), ALT serum levels, HCV viral load and in distribution
of HCV genotypes were similar in these two groups.
Instead, the prevalence of the patients with the CB2-63 RR variant
was significantly higher in patients in the IMD group than
in those in the non-IMD group (49.4% vs 24.1%, p=0.001). A
logistic regression analysis including the CB2-63 receptor (RR
vs QR or QQ), age and sex, identified the CB2-63 RR as the
only independent predictor of IMDs (p =0.005). Conclusions:
the data suggest a significant previously unknown association
between CB2-63 RR variant and IMDs in anti-HCV patients, an
observation deserving further investigation on a larger series of
patients to define its clinical value
Disclosures:
The following authors have nothing to disclose: Nicola Coppola, Rosa Zampino,
Giulia Bellini, Maria Stanzione, Nicolina Capoluongo, Aldo Marrone, Margherita
Macera, Adriana Boemio, Sabatino Maione, Luigi Adinolfi, Emanuele
Miraglia del Giudice, Evangelista Sagnelli, Francesca Rossi
1838
Serum levels of Wisteria floribunda agglutinin–positive
human Mac-2 binding protein are useful for evaluating
early liver fibrosis in hepatitis C patients
Kohei Oda 1 , Hirofumi Uto 1,2 , Seiichi Mawatari 1 , Rie Ibusuki 1 , Sho
Ijuin 1 , Hiroka Onishi 1 , Haruka Sakae 1 , Kaori Muromachi 1 , Akihiko
Oshige 1 , Kotaro Kumagai 1 , Tsutomu Tamai 1 , Akihiro Moriuchi
3 , Akio Ido 1 ; 1 Digestive and Lifestyle Diseases, Department of
Human and Environmental Sciences, Kagoshima University Graduate
School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Kagoshima, Japan;
2 Center for Digestive and Liver Disease, Miyazaki Medical Center
Hospital, Miyazaki, Japan; 3 Department of HGF Tissue Repair and
Regenerative Medicine, Kagoshima University Graduate School of
Medical and Dental Sciences, Kagoshima, Japan
Objective: Liver fibrosis is the most important risk factor for
liver cancer, and the rate of liver carcinogenesis rises significantly
in cases of mild to advanced liver fibrosis (stage F2
or greater) in patients with hepatitis C. Therefore, it is very
important to evaluate liver fibrosis precisely, but appropriate
biomarkers for evaluating less-advanced liver fibrosis have