The prediction of interferon-alpha therapeutic effect by sequence variation of the HCV hypervariable region 1
Yonsei Medical Journal
;
: 430-438, 1999.
Article
in English
| WPRIM
| ID: wpr-164924
ABSTRACT
Interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) has been used to treat hepatitis C virus (HCV)-induced hepatitis, but it has been effective in only about half of the treated patients, with recurrence appearing in the other half. As a consequence of the possible complications associated with IFN-alpha and the high cost of treatment, it has become extremely important to select the proper patients for IFN-alpha treatment. In our previous study, we found that the quasispecies in the hypervariable region (HVR) 1 of HCV were various and that a new quasispecies can appear in non-responders and/or lead to deterioration in the patients' condition. The preliminary data we obtained in the process of our previous research led us to believe that the quasispecies of HVR 1 has something to do with the effect of IFN-alpha. Thus, in this investigation, we tried to determine the predictive factors of IFN-alpha therapy. Thirty patients with HCV infection were treated with IFN-alpha. Among them, 15 patients recovered after six months IFN-alpha treatment, but the remaining 15 patients showed no response after six months IFN-alpha treatment. We cloned HVR 1 DNA by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and examined the quasispecies of HVR 1. As the quasispecies of HVR 1 in non-responders varied more than in the complete remission group, we concluded that the sequence variation in HVR 1 of HCV can be used to predict the effect of IFN-alpha.
Full text:
Available
Index:
WPRIM (Western Pacific)
Main subject:
Molecular Sequence Data
/
Amino Acid Sequence
/
Interferon-alpha
/
Hepatitis C
/
Viral Nonstructural Proteins
/
Hepacivirus
/
Genotype
/
Middle Aged
Type of study:
Prognostic study
Limits:
Adult
/
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Language:
English
Journal:
Yonsei Medical Journal
Year:
1999
Type:
Article
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