title: Hepatitis C virus infection upregulates expression of the type I interferon receptor in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells.
abstract: To assess whether hepatitis C virus infection (HCV) affects type I interferon (IFN) receptor expression, the expression levels of two subunits of this receptor, IFNAR1 and IFNAR2, in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were determined by flow-cytometric assay in 68 anti-HCV antibody-positive patients (47 positive for HCV RNA and 21 negative for HCV RNA) and 14 healthy controls. The percentages of IFNAR1- and IFNAR2-expressing cells were significantly higher in HCV RNA-positive patients than in HCV RNA-negative patients or healthy controls. In multiple regression analysis, the presence of HCV RNA in serum was independently associated with the expression of both IFNAR1 and IFNAR2 in PBMCs (P=0.007 for IFNAR1 and P=0.003 for IFNAR2). The frequency of IFN-gamma-producing peripheral CD4(+) and CD8(+) cells was also significantly higher in HCV RNA-positive patients than in HCV RNA-negative patients or healthy controls and there was a significant correlation between IFN receptor expression and the frequency of IFN-gamma-producing cells. These results suggest that HCV infection upregulates the expression of the type I IFN receptor in PBMCs through enhanced IFN-gamma production by peripheral CD4(+) and CD8(+) cells as one of mechanisms that regulate the expression of the type I IFN receptor.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Yamaguchi University, School of Medicine, Yamaguchi, Japan
authors.forename: Fenyu
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.forename: Keisuke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hino
authors.forename: Yuhki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yamaguchi
authors.forename: Muneko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Okazaki
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kitase
authors.forename: Yasuhiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Satoh
authors.forename: Masaaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Korenaga
authors.forename: Michiari
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Okuda
authors.forename: Kiwamu
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Okita