The Level of Cytokeratin 18 in Patients with HIV and Viral Hepatitis C Co-Infection in Latvia

Cytokeratin 18 (CK18) is a specific marker of hepatocellular apoptosis, which is a useful noninvasive indicator of liver fibrosis in the HIV/HCV group. However, data on the CK18 level in serum are limited for this group. This study demonstrated CK18 levels in serum in HIV/HCV co-infected and HIV mono-infected patients; investigated the association of CK18 levels with other non-invasive markers of liver fibrosis; and presents CK18 dynamics in a four-month-long period. The sample included 273 patients with HIV infection (128 of them were with HIV/HCV co-infection) aged from 23 to 65 (35% females). Levels of hyaluronic acid, CK18, ALT, and AST were determined in serum, and the FIB4 index was calculated. All markers had higher levels in the HIV/HCV group than in the HIV mono-infection group. The HIV/HCV group demonstrated coherent correlations among the markers and their associations with the level of CK18 than the HIV mono-infection group. During the four-month-long period, the CK18 level in serum showed no significant changes.