Identification of predictors in treatment response by mutational analysis of internal ribosome entry site within hepatitis C virus

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

We analyzed mutations in the internal ribosome entry site (IRES) of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in the serum of patients with chronic hepatitis C (CH-C) who had received combination therapy with pegylated interferon and ribavirin (PEG-RBV therapy) .We defined a 12w(-) group as those patients who became negative for serum HCV RNA within 12 weeks after treatment initiation, and a 12w(+) group as those who were positive for serum HCV RNA at 12 and 24 weeks. The 12w(-) and 12w(+) groups consisted of 23 and 18 patients, respectively, totaling 41. Analysis of the major HCV IRES domains, domains II (dII) and III (dIII), showed no marked difference in dII mutations between the two groups. However, the frequency of mutations in dIII tended to be higher in the 12w(-) than in the 12w(+) group, and was significantly higher in dIII at nucleotides 141-252 (dIII 141-252) (P<0.05). These results suggest that mutation analysis of the HCV IRES dIII contributes to establishing new treatment response predictors in PEG-RBV therapy for CH-C.