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The influence of host factors and sequence variability of the p7 region on the response to pegylated interferon/ribavirin therapy for chronic hepatitis C genotype 1b in patients from Serbia

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Abstract

The goal of this study was to identify host and viral factors affecting the response to pegylated interferon/ribavirin (PEG-IFN/RBV) treatment in patients with chronic hepatitis C genotype 1b. Baseline characteristics of the patients and sequences within the p7 region were analyzed in pre-treatment serum samples from 53 individuals with chronic hepatitis C genotype 1b and related to the outcome of therapy. We found a significant correlation between age and response to therapy (p < 0.001). Furthermore, the pre-treatment viral load was closely associated with the stage of liver fibrosis (p < 0.001). The presence of fewer than 4 mutations and age above 40 were significantly associated with non-response (NR) (p < 0.001). Our findings may be useful for estimating the likelihood of achieving a sustained virologic response (SVR) in patients who are chronically infected with hepatitis C virus genotype 1b.

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Abbreviations

ALT:

Alanine aminotransferase

HCV:

Hepatitis C virus

PEG-IFN:

Pegylated interferon

RBV:

Ribavirin

SVR:

Sustained virologic response

NR:

Non-response

IVDU:

Intravenous drug use

aa:

Amino acid

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Acknowledgments

The study was funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia, grants OI 173049, TR 3702 and OI 175024.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory for Radiobiology and Molecular Genetics, Institute of Nuclear Sciences, Vinca, University of Belgrade, P.O. Box 522, Belgrade, Serbia

    Snezana Jovanovic-Cupic, Nina Petrovic, Vesna Mandusic & Milena Krajnovic

  2. Center for Multidisciplinary Research, Institute of Nuclear Sciences, Vinca, University of Belgrade, P.O. Box 522, Belgrade, Serbia

    Sanja Glisic

  3. Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000, Belgrade, Serbia

    Maja Stanojevic

  4. Clinics of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, Military Medical Academy, 11000, Belgrade, Serbia

    Darko Nozic

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  1. Snezana Jovanovic-Cupic
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Jovanovic-Cupic, S., Glisic, S., Stanojevic, M. et al. The influence of host factors and sequence variability of the p7 region on the response to pegylated interferon/ribavirin therapy for chronic hepatitis C genotype 1b in patients from Serbia. Arch Virol 161, 1189–1198 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00705-016-2777-z

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