Liver glycogen phosphorylase as a potential sex based biomarker for hepatitis c-cirrhosis progression to hepatocellular carcinoma

Introduction/Objectives: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection affects millions globally and remains a leading cause of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). While different biomarkers for HCV progression are currently being researched, there is little known about sex-based biomarkers. It is significant to acknowledge sex-based differences in diseases especially due to previous research that showed liver estrogen receptor (ER)-mediated sex-based differences exist in cirrhosis and HCC patients. Liver ERbinding may lead to protective effects in pre-menopausal women. Showing that there were sex-based differences led us to investigate the glycogen phosphorylase enzyme family, specifically the liver isoform (PYGL). It plays a key role in glycogen metabolism. Dysregulation of PYGL has been studied in different cancers, yet its role in sex-based differences in HCV-induced cirrhosis and HCC remains unexplored. This study aimed to evaluate the sex-based differential expression of PYGL and its potential role as a biomarker in HCV-induced cirrhosis and HCC progression.