title: MxA and PKR expression in chronic hepatitis C.
abstract: The effectiveness of therapy for chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients has greatly improved in the last few years, and the gold standard is currently held to be pegylated interferon (IFN) in combination with ribavirin. Overall, however, the percentage of patients achieving a sustained virologic response (SVR) is only around 50%,and it is not possible to predict those patients who will benefit from therapy. The molecular mechanisms underlying lack of therapeutic response remain unknown. In this study, we investigated the tissue expression of MxA and RNA-dependent protein kinase (PKR), two antiviral proteins modulated by IFN, in biopsy samples from hepatitis C patients before the beginning of therapy. Our results show that expression of MxA, but not of PKR, is significantly lower in responders compared with nonresponders. No differences were observed regarding the hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype and the viral load. These results suggest that expression of the MxA protein could play a role among the mechanisms underlying responsiveness to therapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Section of Internal Medicine, University of Bari Medical School, Bari, Italy. g.giannelli@intmed.uniba.it
authors.forename: Gianluigi
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Giannelli
authors.forename: Graziana
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Guadagnino
authors.forename: Pietro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dentico
authors.forename: Guido
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Antonelli
authors.forename: Salvatore
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Antonaci
mesh_terms: D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000378:metabolism; D001706:Biopsy; D005260:Female; D019204:GTP-Binding Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D005838:Genotype; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D064547:Myxovirus Resistance Proteins; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000737:chemistry; D011379:Prognosis; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D012254:Ribavirin / Q000494:pharmacology; D013997:Time Factors; D019892:eIF-2 Kinase / Q000096:biosynthesis*
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha; C579071:MX1 protein, human; D064547:Myxovirus Resistance Proteins; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D012254:Ribavirin; D019892:eIF-2 Kinase; D019204:GTP-Binding Proteins