Hepatitis C virus and the controversial role of the interferon sensi

Mon Dec 31, 2007 4:29 am (PST)
J Med Virol. 2008 Feb;80(2):247-53.
Hepatitis C virus and the controversial role of the interferon sensitivity
determining region in the response to interferon treatment.
Torres-Puente M, Cuevas JM, Jiménez-Hernández N, Bracho MA, García-Robles I,
Carnicer F, Del Olmo J, Ortega E, Moya A, González-Candelas F.
Instituto Cavanilles de Biodiversidad y Biología Evolutiva and Departamento de
Genética, Universidad de Valencia, Valencia, Spain.
The degree of variability of the interferon sensitivity determining region
(ISDR) in the hepatitis C virus (HCV) genome has been postulated to predict the
response to interferon therapy, mainly in patients infected with subtype 1b,
although this prediction has been the subject of a long controversy. This
prediction has been tested by analyzing a cohort of 67 Spanish patients infected
with HCV genotype 1, 23 of which were infected with subtype 1a and 44 with
subtype 1b. A sample previous to therapy with alpha-interferon plus ribavirin
was obtained and several clones (between 25 and 96) including the ISDR were
sequenced from each patient. A significant correlation between mutations at the
ISDR and response to treatment for subtype 1b patients, but not for those
infected with subtype 1a, has been detected. Although the results suggest that
the same relationship holds true for subtype 1a, lack of statistical power
because of the small sample size of this subtype prevented
firmer conclusions. However, identical ISDR sequences were found in responder
and non-responder patients, suggesting that the stability of the ISDR sequence
can occasionally help HCV to evade interferon therapy, although this is not a
sufficient condition. More complex interactions, including the ISDR or not, are
likely to exist and govern the HCV response to interferon treatment. J. Med.
Virol. 80:247-253, 2008. (c) 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
PMID: 18098147 [PubMed - in process]


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