The prediction of interferon-alpha therapeutic effect by sequence variation of the HCV hypervariable region 1.
10.3349/ymj.1999.40.5.430
- Author:
Byung Il YEH
1
;
Hyun Won KIM
;
Hyon Suk KIM
;
Jong Young LEE
;
Kwang Ho LEE
;
Kang Mi LEE
;
Jin Suk KIM
;
Kwang Hyub HAN
Author Information
1. Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Basic Medical Science, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, Korea. gihankhys@yumc.yonsei.ac.kr
- Publication Type:Original Article ; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
- Keywords:
Hepatitis C virus;
hypervariable region;
quasispecies;
interferon
- MeSH:
Adult;
Aged;
Amino Acid Sequence;
Female;
Genotype;
Hepatitis C/virology;
Hepatitis C/drug therapy*;
Hepatitis C-Like Viruses/classification*;
Human;
Interferon-alpha/therapeutic use*;
Male;
Middle Age;
Molecular Sequence Data;
Viral Nonstructural Proteins/genetics;
Viral Nonstructural Proteins/chemistry*;
Viral Nonstructural Proteins/blood
- From:Yonsei Medical Journal
1999;40(5):430-438
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
-
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.
