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World J Hepatol. Jan 27, 2015; 7(1): 121-126
Published online Jan 27, 2015. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v7.i1.121
HBV and HIV co-infection: Impact on liver pathobiology and therapeutic approaches
Mohammad Khalid Parvez
Mohammad Khalid Parvez, Department of Pharmacognosy, King Saud University College of Pharmacy, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Author contributions: The author contributed solely to this work.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Mohammad Khalid Parvez, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacognosy, King Saud University College of Pharmacy, PO Box 2457, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia. khalid_parvez@yahoo.com
Telephone: +966-1-4675132 Fax: +966-1-4677254
Received: July 16, 2014
Peer-review started: July 17, 2014
First decision: July 29, 2014
Revised: August 15, 2014
Accepted: November 7, 2014
Article in press: November 10, 2014
Published online: January 27, 2015
Processing time: 177 Days and 21.2 Hours
Abstract

The consequences of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) co-infection on progression of severe liver diseases is a serious public health issue, worldwide. In the co-infection cases, about 90% of HIV-infected population is seropositive for HBV where approximately 5%-40% individuals are chronically infected. In HIV co-infected individuals, liver-related mortality is estimated over 17 times higher than those with HBV mono-infection. The spectrum of HIV-induced liver diseases includes hepatitis, steatohepatitis, endothelialitis, necrosis, granulomatosis, cirrhosis and carcinoma. Moreover, HIV co-infection significantly alters the natural history of hepatitis B, and therefore complicates the disease management. Though several studies have demonstrated impact of HIV proteins on hepatocyte biology, only a few data is available on interactions between HBV and HIV proteins. Thus, the clinical spectrum as well as the complexity of the co-infection offers challenging fronts to study the underlying molecular mechanisms, and to design effective therapeutic strategies.

Keywords: Hepatitis B virus; Human immunodeficiency virus; Human immunodeficiency virus-hepatotropism; Hepatitis B virus and human immunodeficiency virus co-infection; Chronic hepatitis B; Hepatopathogenesis

Core tip: The consequences of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) co-infection on progression of severe liver diseases is a serious public health issue, worldwide. In HIV co-infected individuals, liver-related mortality is estimated over 17 times higher than those with HBV mono-infection. HIV co-infection significantly alters the natural history of hepatitis B, and therefore complicates the disease management. Thus, the clinical spectrum as well as the complexity of the HBV and HIV co-infection of liver offers challenging fronts to study the underlying molecular mechanisms, and to design effective therapeutic strategies.