Distribution of IL28B Polymorphism in a Cohort of Italians and Immigrants with HCV Infection: Association with Viraemia, Stage of Fibrosis and Response to Treatment

Abstract

Aims of the study are to investigate, in a cohort of patients affected by HCV chronic hepatitis with genotypes 1 and 4, the prevalence of interleukin 28B (IL28B) genotypes, the possible association between IL28B polymorphism and severity of liver damage, the role of IL28B CC as a predictor of outcome. 365 patients with HCV infection were observed between 2013 and 2014. Demographic, virological, biochemical, and genetic characteristics of each patient were investigated. Liver fibrosis was assessed by transient elastometry. Mean age of the patients (72.9 % males, 27.1 % females) is 50 years. 91.5 % % of patients are Caucasian, 8.5 % African. In the patients with HCV1 and HCV4 a higher frequency of IL28B CT is observed with a prevalence of 52.1 and 61.8 % respectively. As regards ethnic group, African people have a prevalence of 35.5 % for CC, while Caucasians have a prevalence of 23.8 % for CC. In our cohort, IL28B polymorphism does not show significant differences among ethnic groups and in HCV1 and HCV4 genotypes. As described in literature, IL28B CC genotype is confirmed as predictor of sustained virological response in both Caucasians and Africans. A significant correlation between liver fibrosis and IL28B polymorphism emerges.

Interleukin 28B Polymorphism as a Predictor of Sustained Virological Response to Sofosbuvir-Based Therapy for Hepatitis C Virus Patients

“…Individuals with the CT-TT genotype had a more significant percentage of individuals with liver fibrosis levels of >8.7 Kpa (23.2%). [28] Also, the findings were consistent with those of Mangia et al (2016). They found a significant association between the frequency of IL-28B T alleles and the likelihood of transition to cirrhosis in G1-infected individuals (as detected by biopsy or non-invasive examinations) (p = 0.0018) [29].…”

“…Conversely, Nosott et al (2016) found that the association between pretreatment basal viremia levels and IL28B genetic polymorphism (rs12979860) distribution was statistically negligible [28].…”

Cytokine polymorphisms and genotypic susceptibility of HCV infection in ribavirin response to peg interferon

“…To add, there are no reports on polymorphisms of TGF-β1-509, TNF-α-308, and IL10-1082 determining the response to antiviral treatment in HCV patients. SNPs near the IL28B gene encoding IFN-γ on chromosome 19 have been well correlated with the treatment response in HCV which has been well correlated with other American and European studies (Mangia et al, 2016;Nosotti et al, 2017;Thomas et al, 2009;Tipu et al, 2014).…”