ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND/AIMS: It has been known that viral factors such as genotype and viral load have a major influence on the outcome of antiviral treatment. Nevertheless, researchers have become increasingly aware that host genetic factors can modulate the response to antiviral treatment. The underlying mechanisms for the varying virologic response rates to IFNalpha-based antiviral therapy are unknown. METHODOLOGY: RNA was isolated from peripheral blood monocytes from treatment-naïve patients with chronic hepatitis C before and at the end of treatment. Gene expression was measured using SuperArray microarrays and compared to that of healthy controls. RESULTS: Ten patients were classified as rapid responders (RRs) and seven patients as non-RRs according to the serum HCV RNA level after 4 weeks of treatment in 17 patients with CHC. Compared with healthy controls, nine and eighteen different expression genes were found significantly in patients with RR and N-RR, respectively. Five different expression genes were found between the patients with RR and N-RR. Two genes that were down-regulated were found between HCV genotype 1b and genotype 2a. Seven different expression genes that were all down-regulated were found between the patients with ETVR and N-ETVR. CONCLUSIONS: (1) The down-regulation of some IFN response-related genes are associated with null response to treat with interferon. (2) It should be HCV genotype 1b is more successful in inducing the down-regulation of IFN response-related genes than HCV genotype 2a, thus contribute to the resistance to IFN.
