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World J Gastroenterol. Aug 7, 2006; 12(29): 4721-4726
Published online Aug 7, 2006. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v12.i29.4721
CCR5Δ32 mutation does not influence the susceptibility to HCV infection, severity of liver disease and response to therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C
Ankur Goyal, PV Suneetha, GT Kumar, Deepak K Shukla, Naveen Arora, Shiv K Sarin
Ankur Goyal, Department of Gastroenterology, G.B. Pant Hospital, New Delhi, Institute of Genomic and Integrative Biology, (Formerly CBT), Mall Road, Delhi, Dr. Ambedkar Center for Biomedical Research, University of Delhi, India
PV Suneetha, GT Kumar, Shiv K Sarin, Department of Gastroenterology, G.B. Pant Hospital, New Delhi, India
Deepak K Shukla, Division of Non-communicable Disease, Indian Council of Medical Research, Ansari Nagar, New Delhi, India
Naveen Arora, Institute of Genomic and Integrative Biology, (Formerly CBT), Mall Road, Delhi, India
Supported by National Task Force Project from the Indian Council of Medical Research; supported by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi to Ankur Goyal, a Senior Research Fellow
Correspondence to: Dr. SK Sarin, MD, DM, FNA, Director, Professor and Head, Department of Gastroenterology, G.B. Pant Hospital, University of Delhi, New Delhi-110002 and Adjunct Professor, Molecular Medicine, Jawaharlal Lal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. sksarin@nda.vsnl.net.in
Telephone: +91-11-23232013 Fax: +91-11-23219710
Received: August 17, 2005
Revised: August 28, 2005
Accepted: October 10, 2005
Published online: August 7, 2006
Abstract

AIM: To study whether CCR5Δ32 mutation was associated with viral infection and severity of liver disease.

METHODS: Two hundred and fifty two histologically proven, chronic HCV patients (mean age: 41 ± 14 years; M/F: 164/88) were genotyped. PCR based genotyping of 32 bp deletion at the CCR5 locus was done. Four-hundred and eight matched healthy controls were studied to assess susceptibility to HCV infection. To assess correlation of immune gene polymorphism with severity of HCV related liver disease, patients with chronic HCV infection were divided into those with a fibrosis score of ≤ 2 (mild) or > 2 (severe) and histological activity index (HAI) of ≤ 5 or > 5. For correlation between CCR5Δ32 mutations and response to therapy, 129 patients who completed therapy were evaluated.

RESULTS: The majority (89.4%) of the patients were infected with genotype 3. The frequency of homozygous CCR5Δ32 mutants was comparable to HCV patients as compared to the healthy controls (0.7% vs 0%, P = 0.1). Further more, the frequency of CCR5∆32 mutation was comparable in patients with mild or severe liver disease. (P = NS). There was also no association observed with response to therapy and CCR5Δ32 mutation.

CONCLUSION: CCR5Δ32 mutation does not have a role in disease susceptibility, severity or response to therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C infection.

Keywords: β-chemokine receptor 32 bp deletion; CC chemokine ligand; Human leukocyte antigen; Histological activity index