ABSTRACT
The standard therapy for HCV is the pegylated rhIFN-a2 plus Ribavirin. Treatment with IFN is associated occasionally with the development of anti-IFN Abs. The aim of this research was to determine the incidence and etiology for development of anti- IFN-alpha2 antibodies in Egyptian HCV infected patients treated with PEG IFN- alpha 2a and Ribavirin, and their influence on response to treatment. The virological response was determined using nested HCV RT-PCR for 56 HCV infected patients treated for 12 months. The results showed that 55.3% of those patients were responders and 44.7% were non responders. The formations of anti-IFN- alpha 2 IgG Abs in those patients have been assessed using ELISA. The incidence of development of antibodies was 6/31[19.4%] in responders, and 12/25[48%] in non-responders. The statistically significant association [p < 0.05] between non-responding to treatment and the incidence of these antibodies, indicates the influence of these antibodies on treatment outcome. No statistical significant association [p>0.05] had been found between the incidence of these antibodies and other clinical data [ALT level, gender and age] of patients. No significance difference had been found between reactivity of these antibodies towards rhIFN-a2a and rhIFN-a2b