Genetic structural differences between responders and non-responders to interferon therapy for chronic hepatitis-B patients

Abstract

Interferon-a therapy has become a main stay of treatment for hepatitis-B patients. The sustained remission rates are around 30%, and the factors determining response are poorly defined. Our study aimed to search for the genetic differences between responder and non-responder patients. We have found 13 short tandem repeat markers (STR) that display different allele and/or genotype frequency between the two patient groups. Eleven out of 13 STR markers were selected to perform principal component analysis and hierarchical clustering. The study subjects could be further divided into six groups based on their genetic similarity, which correlated with the drug response rate. In conclusion, this pilot study has developed a new approach to identify genetic markers that allows us to predict the drug response in hepatitis B patients. Our study utilizing STR markers may provide an alternative approach to the utilized SNP markers in pharmacogenetic study.

Effect of Host and Viral Factors on Hepatitis B E Antigen-Positive Chronic Hepatitis B Patients Receiving Pegylated Interferon-α-2A Therapy

“…Further large studies are needed to examine this important issue. Few studies have investigated whether host genetic factors affect the response to IFN-based therapy in HBeAg-positive patients [33,34]. In this study, we first focused on SNPs associated with HBV clearance.…”

Preactivation of the interferon signalling in liver is correlated with nonresponse to interferon alpha therapy in patients chronically infected with hepatitis B virus

“…Recently, some studies indicated that cell lines infected with HBV have different gene expression pattern after treatment with IFN‐α, and this difference was closely associated with IFN‐α treatment outcome [11,12]. It was also reported that 13 short tandem repeat markers (STR) displayed different allele and/or genotype frequency between IFN‐α treatment responders and nonresponders (NRs) [13]. This pilot study has developed a new approach to identify genetic markers that allow us to predict the IFN‐α response in CHB, but these data were generated from cell culture or peripheral blood, not fully reflecting the efficiency of IFN‐α treatment on patients with CHB in the liver tissue.…”

Implications of Hepatitis B Virus Genomic Variations on Treatment Outcomes

“…However, few studies have investigated the influence of host genetic factors on disease progression and treatment outcomes in chronic hepatitis B [65,66], and the value of these preliminary findings need further validation.…”