Open Access

ARTICLE

Polymorphisms in the IFNAR1 gene in patients with chronic hepatitis C: outcome of combined IFN-a therapy

Cristina Tena-Tomás¹, Maria Lucia Pedroso², Iara J. de Messias-Reason^1,2, Peter G. Kremsner¹, Jürgen F. J. Kun¹

1 Department of Parasitology, Institute for Tropical Medicine, Wilhelmstr. 27, 72074 Tübingen, Germany
2 Hospital de Clinicas, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba-PR, Brazil

* Corresponding Author: J.F.J. Kun,

European Cytokine Network 2007, 18(3), 19-24. https://doi.org/10.1684/ecn.2007.0098

Abstract

Aims. Interferon-a (IFN-α) alone or in combination with ribavirin has been used for the last decade in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C, although the achievement of a sustained virological response (SVR) has not been very satisfactory. The treatment outcome depends on viral genotypes and host genetic polymorphisms in genes involved in the IFN-α signaling cascade. In this paper, we investigated the distribution of two variants of the IFNAR1 gene, G17470C and L168V, in two patient groups having received IFN-α alone or in combination with ribavirin. Methods. The analysis was performed using DNA sequencing of the relevant gene fragments. Results and conclusions. This study suggests that when combination therapy with high dose IFN-α and ribavirin is administered, HCV genotypes and age rather than the IFNAR1 polymorphisms are the predictors of a sustained response.

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Keywords

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