Evaluation of Soluble Inducible T‑cell Co‑stimulator (sICOS) as a Prognostic Biomarker for Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C Virus

Aim of the Work: This study aimed to investigate the serum level of sICOS molecule in chronic Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) patients and its association with pathological injury and HCV viral load in chronic hepatitis C patients to evaluate sICOS molecule as a novel biomarker for HCV replication, and disease progression.

Patients and Methods: The study included 40 chronic HCV-infected patients divided into two groups; group I 20 patients suffering of chronic HCV without cirrhosis, group II 20 patients with cirrhosis and group III composed of 10 healthy controls. Serum level of sICOS was analyzed by Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). HCV viral load was estimated in all patients using real time PCR. The correlation between serum sICOS) and HCV viral load was studied.

Results: Viral load in group I ranged from 401.11 to 880.000 IU/ml with a mean value of 521.727 ±152.225 and group II ranged from 315.49 to 1.110.000 IU/ml with a mean value of 603.298± 207.2. regard level of sICOS; it was significantly elevated in chronic HCV patients as its mean level in group I was 56.35 ± 6.75%, in group II was 69.4± 6,004% and in group III was 32±6.61% with P-value <0.001 (significant). In chronic HCV infection sICOS was positively correlated with HCV viral load.

Conclusion: sICOS serum level significantly higher in chronic HCV patients than normal healthy individuals. sICOS level in the serum was highly correlated with HCV viral load in chronic HCV-infected patients, which made sICOS a novel indicator to evaluate HCV replication and disease progression in chronic hepatitis C patients.