title: Modulation of hepatitis C virus quasispecies heterogeneity by interferon-alpha and ribavirin therapy.
abstract: To determine the effects of interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) and ribavirin therapy on hepatitis C virus (HCV) quasispecies heterogeneity, 29 patients with chronic HCV infection treated with either IFN-alpha (n = 15), ribavirin (n = 7) or placebo (n = 7) were studied. HCV quasispecies heterogeneity was determined by single-strand conformational polymorphism (SSCP) analysis of the HCV E2 hypervariable region 1 (HVR1). For patients receiving IFN-alpha, HVR1 was amplified in 14 of 15 patients before, and in six of seven patients after therapy. After controlling the amount of amplicon loaded, a reduction in the number of SSCP bands was observed with IFN-alpha therapy (median number of SSCP bands per patient was eight before therapy and two after therapy). In the seven patients within each of the ribavirin- and placebo-treated groups, there was no significant difference in the viraemia level, number of SSCP bands per patient or the SSCP band pattern, before and after therapy. These findings suggest that at the doses given, IFN-alpha, but not ribavirin, exerts a selective pressure on HCV quasispecies heterogeneity.
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of Florida, Gainesville 32610, USA.
authors.forename: R P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: González-Peralta
authors.forename: W Z
authors.initials: WZ
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: G L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.forename: K P
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Qian
authors.forename: J Y
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Lau
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D018740:Genetic Heterogeneity; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018807:Polymorphism, Single-Stranded Conformational; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D012254:Ribavirin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D012367:RNA, Viral; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins; C091015:glycoprotein E2, Hepatitis C virus; D012254:Ribavirin; D000410:Alanine Transaminase