title: Host factors and failure of interferon-alpha treatment in hepatitis C virus.
abstract: Failure of interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) treatment in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a challenging obstacle for clinical and experimental hepatology. Both viral and host factors have been implicated in reducing responsiveness to IFN-alpha therapy. The role of viral factors has been studied extensively and has been summarized in several review articles; however, much less attention has been paid to host factors. In this paper, we review evidence of host factor involvement in IFN-alpha treatment failure. We discuss possible underlying mechanisms responsible for these effects. Potential therapeutic strategies to enhance the effectiveness of IFN-alpha therapy for HCV are also proposed.
authors.affiliation: Section on Liver Biology, Laboratory of Physiologic Studies, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA. bgao@mail.nih.gov
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.forename: Svetlana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Radaeva
mesh_terms: D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017211:Treatment Failure
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D016898:Interferon-alpha