Quantitative and qualitative lipid improvement with chronic hepatitis C virus eradication using direct‐acting antivirals

AIM Direct-acting antivirals have revolutionized hepatitis C virus (HCV) therapy by providing a high sustained virological response (SVR) rate and subsequent favorable lipid increases. Proprotein convertase subtilisin-kexin like-9 (PCSK9) plays an important role in regulating quantitative lipid levels. This study examined the interactions between quantitative PCSK9 and lipid changes, as well as qualitative lipid changes in terms of lectin-like oxidized low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor-1 ligand containing apolipoprotein B (LAB) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol uptake capacity (HDL-CUC). METHODS Patients with chronic HCV infection (N = 231) who achieved an SVR by direct-acting antivirals without lipid-lowering therapy were included for comparisons of PCSK9, LAB, HDL-CUC, and other clinical indices between pretreatment and SVR12 time points. RESULTS LDL (LDL) cholesterol and HDL cholesterol levels were quantitatively increased at SVR12, along with higher PCSK9 (all p