Clinical characteristics and prevalence of GB virus C, SEN virus, and HFE gene mutation in Japanese patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis

Background This study was carried out to clarify differences in clinical characteristics between fatty liver and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis in a Japanese population, and to assess the significance of GB virus C (GBV-C) infection, SEN virus (SENV) infection, and HFE gene mutation in the pathophysiology of these conditions. Methods. Twenty patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and 18 patients with simple steatosis were enrolled, and their clinical characteristics and histological findings were compared. Detection of GBV-C RNA and SENV DNA was performed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Mutational analysis of the HFE gene was performed by PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). Results. Serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and ferritin were significantly higher (P < 0.05, for both) in NASH than in simple steatosis, and serum total cholesterol (T-Chol) was significantly lower (P < 0.05) in NASH than in simple steatosis. While GBV-C was detectable in the serum of only one patient with NASH, SENV was detected in 50% (15/30) of the patients whose sera were tested for this virus, but the prevalence was not significantly different between the two groups (42% [8/19] in simple steatosis and 64% [7/11] in NASH). The sex ratio, body mass index (BMI), and age were not significantly different between the two groups, and mutation in the HFE gene was not detected in any patient. Conclusions. Higher serum AST and ferritin, and lower serum T-Chol are distinctive features in NASH when compared with simple steatosis. GBV-C infection, SENV infection, and HFE gene mutation were not considered to influence the development of NASH from simple fatty liver.