BACKGROUND We investigated associations between signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) 1 in pretreated liver tissues, interleukin (IL) 28B polymorphism and treatment response in hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected patients treated with peginterferon and ribavirin. METHODS AND FINDINGS We performed immunostaining analysis of STAT1 in liver tissues and determined IL28B polymorphis...

BACKGROUND Genome-wide association studies have recently revealed that several single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the interleukin (IL) 28B genes can predict the sustained virological response (SVR) to pegylated interferon-α2a/b plus ribavirin in hepatitis C virus (HCV)-genotype 1 patients. However, data for patients infected with HCV genotype 4 (HCV-G4) are limited. AIM We analyzed the...

BACKGROUND Simeprevir with peginterferon and ribavirin has been used for the treatment of chronic hepatitis caused by genotype 1 hepatitis C virus (HCV). We explored the predictive factors for sustained virological response (SVR) and viral relapse using datasets from four Japanese phase 3 studies (CONCERTO). METHODS We used a multiple logistic regression model. First, an integrated dataset co...

Aim. We analyzed the pretreatment natural killer (NK) cell functions with the aim of predicting the sustained virological response (SVR) or the interleukin (IL) 28B polymorphism that is strongly associated with the treatment response. Methods. The peripheral NK cells from chronic hepatitis patients with HCV genotype 1 and high virus titers were activated using a Toll-like receptor (TLR) 4 ligan...

BACKGROUND Interleukin (IL) 28B single nucleotide polymorphisms may play a role in the clearance of hepatitis C virus (HCV). We aimed to evaluate the treatment response of chronic HCV infection patients to pegile interferon (pegIFN) and ribavirin treatment with regard to IL28B rs12979860 C/T polymorphism. METHODS A total of 186 patients (mean age, 55.6 ± 10 years; 65.1% female) who underwent ...

BACKGROUND Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is associated with the development of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma and is also related to fatty change of the liver. Variation in patatin-like phospholipase domain-containing 3 (PNPLA3) gene is associated with disease progression in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Recent reports have suggested that PNPLA3, IL28B and TLR4-associate...

BACKGROUND The roles of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at HLA-DP and IL28B loci on hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) seroclearance in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) infection are unknown. METHODS We compared the HLA-DP (rs3077, rs9277378, rs3128917) and IL28B (rs12979860, rs8099917) polymorphisms of 203 CHB patients achieving spontaneous HBsAg seroclearance with 203 age- and sex-matched ...

BACKGROUND Hepatitis C is a global health problem and represents a major cause of liver disease and socioeconomic burden. Effective antiviral therapy may prevent these complications, but the current treatment for patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection does not produce sustained virologic response. Therefore, identification of the determinants of response to treatment is a high ...

OBJECTIVE To establish the role of liver fibrosis as a predictive tool of response to pegylated interferon alpha (Peg-IFN) and ribavirin (RBV) treatment in human immunodeficiency (HIV)/hepatitis C virus (HCV) coinfected patients, in addition to recognized predictive factors (HCV load, HCV genotype, IL-28B polymorphism). PATIENTS AND METHODS A sample of 267 HIV/HCV coinfected patients was trea...

BACKGROUND A recent genome-wide association study (GWAS) on patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) treated with peginterferon and ribavirin (pegIFN-α/RBV) identified a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) on chromosome 19 (rs12979860) which was strongly associated with a sustained virological response (SVR). The aim of this study was twofold: to study the relationship between IL28B rs12979860 ...