RESUMO

AIMS: Interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) alone or in combination with ribavirin has been used for the last decade in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C, although the achievement of a sustained virological response (SVR) has not been very satisfactory. The treatment outcome depends on viral genotypes and host genetic polymorphisms in genes involved in the IFN-alpha signaling cascade. In this paper, we investigated the distribution of two variants of the IFNAR1 gene, G17470C and L168V, in two patient groups having received IFN-alpha alone or in combination with ribavirin. METHODS: The analysis was performed using DNA sequencing of the relevant gene fragments. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that when combination therapy with high dose IFN-alpha and ribavirin is administered, HCV genotypes and age rather than the IFNAR1 polymorphisms are the predictors of a sustained response.

Assuntos

Antivirais/uso terapêutico , Genoma Viral , Hepatite C Crônica/tratamento farmacológico , Hepatite C Crônica/genética , Interferon Tipo I/uso terapêutico , Polimorfismo Genético , Receptor de Interferon alfa e beta/genética , Adulto , Fatores Etários , Brasil/epidemiologia , DNA/sangue , DNA/isolamento & purificação , Quimioterapia Combinada , Feminino , Genótipo , Hepacivirus/efeitos dos fármacos , Hepacivirus/fisiologia , Hepatite C Crônica/epidemiologia , Hepatite C Crônica/virologia , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , RNA Viral/análise , Proteínas Recombinantes , Indução de Remissão , Ribavirina/uso terapêutico , Análise de Sequência de DNA/métodos , Resultado do Tratamento