IDIBAPS, Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer

Main lines of research

1. Study of the role of neutralizing antibodies in the kinetics of infection by the hepatitis C virus (HVC) after liver transplant and implications in the course of recurrence of hepatitis C. The group has prepared a technique that makes it possible to study the neutralizing potential (in vitro) of HVC antibodies. This means that we can determine whether these antibodies modulate the early kinetics of graft infection and whether this affects the severity of hepatitis C evaluated a year after transplant.

2. Occult hepatitis B and liver-cell carcinoma. The presence of residual markers of infection by the hepatitis B virus (HVB), in the absence of the surface antigen (HBsAg), has been linked by some studies to a greater predisposition to develop liver diseases and even liver-cell carcinoma. With the collaboration of the hepatic oncology group, we will study this hypothesis in a well-characterized cohort of patients with liver-cell carcinoma (HBsAg-negative).

3. Expression of HVC entry receptors in liver tissue. Influence on the kinetics of liver graft infection and on patient outcome. This is a broad project with multiple objectives, which began last year. The aim is to characterize the expression of the different receptors that HVC uses to enter the liver cell (CD81, claudin-1, occludin, SRB-1) using different techniques (flux cytometry, immunofluorescence, western-blot). In the medium term, we are looking to increase knowledge on the role of these receptors in the kinetics of graft infection following liver transplant. We will also study the possible role of immunosuppressant drugs in the expression of CD81, claudin and SRB-1.

4. Treatment of chronic hepatitis C. Naturally, our group continues to make great efforts to improve the efficacy and safety of antiviral treatment in patients with chronic HVC infection. This line of research includes the following different aspects: 1) participation in clinical trials of new antiviral molecules (both in initial phases and in pre-marketing phases). 2) study of the predictive factors of response to treatment, and design of models that provide a reliable prediction of treatment results, 3) further study of the mechanisms that explain the lack of response and recurrence in antiviral treatment.

5. Noninvasive diagnosis of chronic hepatitis C. The objective of this line of research is to validate different models of noninvasive diagnosis of liver damage (basically liver fibrosis) in cohorts of patients infected with HVC. The diagnosis models are based on the combination of routine laboratory variables, the combination of different markers of fibrogenesis and transitory elastometry (ET). Over the next year, the group will continue to apply new models based on serologic marker and will focus on the study of patients with hepatitis C after liver transplant.