Science Letters

Evaluation of iron metabolic alteration in patients suffering from hepatitis B and C: a study in local population of Punjab, Pakistan

Kalsoom Zaigham 1*, Maryam Tariq 1, Rahina Ahmed 1, Khawar Ali Shahzad 1, 2, Muhammad Shahzad Iqbal 3, Muhammad Zaigham Javed 1

a Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, The University of Lahore, Lahore 54000, Pakistan

b Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, China

c Center of Excellence in Molecular Biology, University of the Punjab, Lahore 53700, Pakistan

Abstract

Iron overload and altered metabolism are the consequences of many disorders frequently observed in chronic liver diseases i.e., hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus. The present study, therefore, was aimed to evaluate the effect of HBV and HCV on iron metabolism. For this purpose blood samples of 25 patients with HCV and 25 patients with HBV were collected from Mayo hospital, Lahore, Pakistan along with 25 normal individuals. Serum was separated and processed for the estimation of markers of iron metabolism via free iron, ferritin, total Iron binding capacity (TIBC) and unsaturated iron binding capacity (UIBC) by performing ELISA and flame atomic absorption spectroscopy. Ferritin levels were measured separately in male and female individuals. The outcome showed significant alteration in mean levels of free iron, TIBC and UIBC in case groups (HBV and HCV) as compared to control group while insignificant alteration was observed in mean levels of ferritin in serum of HCV and HBV male patients as compared to control group. It was concluded that the manifestation of HBV and HCV significantly altered basic parameters of iron metabolism; however, the level of alteration of ferritin depends upon the viral load of HCV and HBV resulting in significant or insignificant alteration in ferritin level.

Keywords: Hepatitis B virus, Hepatitis C virus, total iron binding capacity, unsaturated iron binding capacity.

Received May 27, 2013; Revised June 21, 2014; Accepted August 10, 2014

*Corresponding author: KalsoomZaigham; Email: kalsimbb@yahoo.com