title: Pegylated interferon alpha therapy in acute hepatitis C: relation to hepatitis C virus-specific T cell response kinetics.
abstract: Pegylated interferon alpha (PEG IFN-alpha) improves sustained virological response rates in chronic hepatitis C, but neither its role in acute hepatitis C nor the biologic basis for its action has been defined. This prospective study assessed the efficacy of PEG IFN-alpha treatment in acute hepatitis C in relation to the kinetics of hepatitis C virus (HCV)-specific CD4(+) T cell responses during therapy and follow-up. Forty subjects with proven acute hepatitis C who received either PEG IFN-alpha plus ribavirin (n = 20) or PEG IFN-alpha monotherapy (n = 20) for 24 weeks in addition to 14 untreated subjects with acute hepatitis C were prospectively followed. Serum HCV RNA, HCV-specific CD4(+) T cell responses, and cytokine production were measured before and during therapy and at follow-up and correlated to the outcome. The sustained virological response rate was 85% with PEG IFN-alpha/ribavirin combination and 80% with PEG IFN-alpha monotherapy. Five untreated subjects had spontaneous recovery. The frequency, magnitude, and breadth of HCV-specific CD4(+) T helper 1 responses were significantly higher in treated subjects compared with untreated subjects with self-limited disease or subjects with chronic evolution. The CD4(+) T cell responses were maintained in subjects with sustained virological responses and self-limited disease but fluctuated in those who developed chronic infection. In conclusion, PEG IFN-alpha therapy in acute hepatitis induces high rates of sustained virological response and prevents choronicity, probably through efficient early stimulation of multispecific HCV-specific CD4(+) T helper 1 responses.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. Sanna.Kamal@link.net
authors.forename: Sanaa M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Kamal
authors.forename: Alaa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ismail
authors.forename: Camilla S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Graham
authors.forename: Qi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Jens W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Rasenack
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Peters
authors.forename: Ahmed A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Tawil
authors.forename: Jutta J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Fehr
authors.forename: Khalifa El Sayed
authors.initials: Kel S
authors.lastname: Khalifa
authors.forename: Mahmoud M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Madwar
authors.forename: Margaret James
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Koziel
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007700:Kinetics; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; C100416:peginterferon alfa-2a