Background: CD36, a class B scavenger receptor, participates in the pathogenesis of metabolic dysregulation such\r\nas insulin resistance, hepatic steatosis, and atherosclerosis. Persistent hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection often evokes\r\nthese metabolic abnormalities. The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the role of CD36 in the\r\npathogenesis of insulin resistance and hepatic steatosis caused by chronic HCV infection.\r\nMethods: Forty-five patients with HCV-related chronic liver disease (CLD-C) were enrolled in this study. CD36\r\nexpression in the liver specimen was examined by an immunohistochemical procedure. The concentrations of\r\ncirculating soluble form of CD36 (sCD36) and oxLDL were determined by the enzyme-linked innunosorbent assay.\r\nInsulin resistance was estimated by the values of HOMA-IR.\r\nResults: Moderate to extensive hepatic CD36 expression was observed in the sinusoids of all enrolled CLD-C\r\npatients. CD36-positive sinusoids appeared to be identical to Kupffer cells. The severity of CD36 expression in the\r\nhepatic sinusoids was significantly correlated with the sCD36 level in sera of patients with CLD-C. The serum sCD36\r\nlevels were significantly correlated with body mass index and serum oxLDL levels in those patients. However, the\r\nserum sCD36 concentrations were independent of the values of HOMA-IR and the severity of hepatic steatosis.\r\nConclusions: These data suggest that the serum sCD36 levels reflect the severity of CD36 expression on the\r\nKupffer cells in patients with CLD-C, and that the serum sCD36 levels were associated with obesity, although the\r\nlevels were independent of insulin resistance and hepatic steatosis in those patients.
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