IL28B polymorphism and cytomegalovirus predict response to treatment in Egyptian HCV type 4 patients

Figure 1 Distribution of LI28B rs12979860 single nucleotide polymorphism alleles among a healthy Egyptian population, spontaneous clearance and chronic hepatitis C patients. A: A hundred healthy subjects representing ethnic backgrounds of the Egyptian population were typed for IL28B single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs 12979860. The distribution of different allele frequencies is depicted as a pie chart; B: Eighty four patients with spontaneous clearance from hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection were typed for IL28B SNP rs 12979860. The distribution of different allele frequencies is depicted as a pie chart; C: A hundred and sixty six chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients with low F scores (F0-F2) were typed for IL28B SNP rs 12979860. The distribution of different allele frequencies is depicted as a pie chart.

Figure 2 Rate of sustained viral response in IL28B variants. Among 166 chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients treated with combined interferon (IFN) and ribavirin therapy, 80 patients did not achieve a sustained viral response (SVR) while 86 patients achieved a SVR. Among the 14% (24) of CHC patients bearing the C/C allele, 67% (16 patients) achieved a SVR, while the other two genotypes C/T and TT were associated with lower SVR rates; 50% and 48%, respectively. Genotype CC was associated with response to IFN (P = 0.025). HCV: Hepatitis C virus.

Figure 3 Association of cytomegalovirus reactivation with sustained viral response rates in C/C patients. The data shown clearly demonstrate that cytomegalovirus (CMV) reactivation has dramatically reduced the sustained viral response (SVR) rates in C/C genotypes as represented by a 12.5% SVR rate in CMV-positive patients compared with 87.5% in CMV-negative patients (P < 0.0001).

Figure 4 Sorting of C/T genotype according to association with cytomegalovirus infection. The sustained viral response (SVR) rates among C/T carriers, is reduced to < 50% of its value in cases where patients had cytomegalovirus (CMV) reactivation. On the other hand, the non-response rate is increased 2-fold in cases of CMV reactivation. HCV: Hepatitis C virus.