title: Preferential virological response to interferon-alpha 2a in patients with chronic hepatitis C infected by virus genotype 3a and exhibiting a low gamma-GT/ALT ratio.
abstract: Hepatitis C virus infection causes acute and often chronic hepatitis. Therapy with interferon-alpha has been shown to induce remission of the inflammatory process within the liver and also elimination of the virus. However, only about 50% of treated patients respond in terms of at least a transient disappearance of viral RNA from the circulation below the limit of detection. In order to find prognostic factors for responsiveness, patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection were analyzed for virus genotype and pretreatment biochemical liver parameters including serum AST, ALT, and gamma-GT activities. Whereas the initial biochemical response to interferon-alpha 2a was found not to be related to virus genotype, the initial virological response was found to be closely related to infection by genotype 3a and to a low pretreatment ratio of serum gamma-GT/ALT activity. These data confirm and extend the importance of virus genotype for responsiveness to interferon-alpha therapy and introduce an additional, host-specific parameter with a potential predictive value, namely the pretreatment ratio of serum gamma-GT/ALT activity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Georg-August-Universität, Göttingen, Germany.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mihm
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hartmann
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fayyazi
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ramadori
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000201:enzymology / Q000628:therapy* / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D005723:gamma-Glutamyltransferase / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D012367:RNA, Viral; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D005723:gamma-Glutamyltransferase; D000410:Alanine Transaminase