title: Hepatitis C virus amino acid sequence diversity correlates with the outcome of combined interferon/ribavirin therapy in Chinese patients with chronic hepatitis C.
abstract: Evidence has shown that the p7, NS2 and NS3 genes affect the outcome of pegylated-IFN-α/ribavirin (PEG-IFN/RBV) combination therapy in different populations with HCV infections. Here, we test the hypothesis that diversity in the p7, NS2 and NS3 genes influences the probability of obtaining either a sustained (SVR) or non-sustained (non-SVR) viral response in Chinese patients with genotype 1b chronic hepatitis C. There were significantly more unique variations in the p7, NS2 and NS3 genes in the sequences from SVR than non-SVR patients. Inter-patient variations related to treatment outcome in NS3 were concentrated in the protease domain. There were no significant differences in the frequency of variations in the core, E1 and E2 proteins between the groups. In conclusion, increased amino acid sequence diversity in the p7, NS2 and NS3 genes is associated with an SVR to PEG-IFN/RBV therapy in Chinese patients with genotype 1b chronic hepatitis C.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Hepatology Unit, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Yanli
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Jingtao
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Junjie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Shuwen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Yingsong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Jinlin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hou
authors.forename: Yuanping
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002681:China; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D014644:Genetic Variation; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D007372:Interferons / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012254:Ribavirin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D014764:Viral Proteins; D012254:Ribavirin; D007372:Interferons