{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,29]],"date-time":"2026-03-29T01:59:59Z","timestamp":1774749599817,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":0,"publisher":"Romanian Society of Gastroenterology and Hepatology","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,6,22]],"date-time":"2023-06-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1687392000000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-nd\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JGLD"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background and Aims: The aim of this study is to determine whether activated hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) may represent a prognostic marker of progressive liver fibrosis in chronic viral hepatitis C (VHC) before antiviral therapy. The possible correlation between HSCs immunohistochemical features, histopathological aspects and clinical data before therapy were also studied.\r\nMethods: This retrospective pilot study was conducted on 27 liver biopsies from VHC patients before antiviral therapy. HSCs\u2019s immunohistochemical analysis used the antibodies alpha-smooth muscle actin (\u03b1-SMA), glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and vinculin. We correlated immunopositive HSCs with HCV load, liver stiffness (LS), fibrosis stage and necro-inflammatory degree before treatment. Also, we assessed the association between liver fibrosis after therapy, the sustained virological response at 12 weeks after therapy (SVR 12) and the type of therapy.\r\nResults: HSCs were increased in VHC patients compared to controls, mainly in the intermediate and periportal lobular regions. \u03b1-SMA and vinculin HSCs correlated positively with fibrosis stage (p=0.044), (p=0.028). Furthermore, \u03b1-SMA and vinculin HSCs were associated with LS (p=0.027), (p=0.002) and viral load (p=0.021), (p=0.006), but not with necro-inflammation degree. GFAP HSCs inversely correlated with fibrosis stage (r= -0.475), LS (r= -0.422) and HCV load (r= -0.517), but positively with necro-inflammation degree (p=0.038). Liver fibrosis post therapy correlated positively with SVR12 (p&lt;0.001) and the type of therapy (p=0.006) and SVR12 correlated positively with treatment\u2019s type (p=0.002).\r\nConclusions: Activated HSCs may represent a marker of increased liver fibrosis in VHC. Different immunohistochemical markers can detect various HSCs subpopulations involved in the evolution of VHC and liver fibrosis.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.15403\/jgld-4726","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,6,21]],"date-time":"2023-06-21T20:44:42Z","timestamp":1687380282000},"page":"170-181","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Activated Hepatic Stellate Cells (Ito Cells) - Marker of Advanced Fibrosis in Chronic Viral Hepatitis C: A Pilot Study"],"prefix":"10.15403","volume":"32","author":[{"given":"Rada Teodora","family":"Sufletel","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Carmen","family":"Stanca Melincovici","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Olga Hilda","family":"Or\u0103\u0219an","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Toader","family":"Zaharie","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Bogdan Alexandru","family":"Gheban","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Alexandru","family":"Istrate","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Anne-Marie","family":"Constantin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Carmen Mihaela","family":"Mihu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"6121","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,6,22]]},"container-title":["Journal of Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/jgld.ro\/jgld\/index.php\/jgld\/article\/download\/4726\/1935","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/jgld.ro\/jgld\/index.php\/jgld\/article\/download\/4726\/1934","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,6]],"date-time":"2025-10-06T20:11:48Z","timestamp":1759781508000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/jgld.ro\/jgld\/index.php\/jgld\/article\/view\/4726"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2023,6,22]]},"references-count":0,"journal-issue":{"issue":"2","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,6,22]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.15403\/jgld-4726","relation":{},"ISSN":["1842-1121","1841-8724"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1842-1121","type":"electronic"},{"value":"1841-8724","type":"print"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2023,6,22]]}}}