Interferon signaling and treatment outcome in chronic hepatitis C
University of Basel · Friedrich Miescher Institute · +1 more institution
Abstract
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major cause of chronic liver disease worldwide. The current standard therapy for chronic hepatitis C (CHC) consists of a combination of pegylated IFN alpha (pegIFNalpha) and ribavirin. It achieves a sustained viral clearance in only 50-60% of patients. To learn more about molecular mechanisms underlying treatment failure, we investigated IFN-induced signaling in paired liver biopsies collected from CHC patients before and after administration of pegIFNalpha. In patients with a rapid virological response to treatment, pegIFNalpha induced a strong up-regulation of IFN-stimulated genes (ISGs). As shown previously, nonresponders had high expression levels of ISGs before…
Citation impact
- FWCI
- 32.92
- Percentile
- 100%
- References
- 33
Authors
7Topics & keywords
- Ribavirin
- Hepatitis C virus
- Interferon
- Hepatitis C
- Immunology
- Medicine
- Alpha interferon
- Signal transduction