title: Impact of the IL-18 gene polymorphism in response to antiviral therapy in chronic HCV genotype 4 patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Interleukin (IL)-18 is a well-known major proinflammatory cytokine with broad biological effects. The major immunomodulatory functions of IL-18 include enhancing T cell and natural killer cell cytotoxicity. Serum levels of this cytokine were shown to increase in chronic hepatitis C patients compared to non-infected healthy people. An association between IL-18 gene promoter polymorphisms and pegylated interferon (PEG-IFN) and ribavirin treatment outcomes has been reported for individuals with chronic hepatitis C virus genotype 1 (HCV-1). In this study, HCV genotype 4 (HCV-4) patients were assessed for IL-18 gene polymorphisms and treatment outcomes or severity of liver disease because data concerning the impact of IL-18 gene polymorphisms on patients with HCV-4 infections are limited.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study included 123 chronic HCV-4 Egyptian patients and 123 apparently healthy volunteer blood donors who served as a control group. HCV genotyping was performed using the line probe assay. IL-18 genotyping was performed using the TaqMan Real-Time PCR method in all 246 patient and control samples.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In our study, all patients had HCV-4. IL-18 gene single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) (-607C/A) genotype distributions and allele frequencies did not differ between HCV patients and normal healthy subjects or between patient groups when compared according to the therapeutic response. Moreover, the presence of an IL-18 SNP was not associated with histological disease severity. We conclude that the presence of the IL-18 SNP rs1946518 does not affect the outcome of chronic HCV-4 treatment in Egyptian patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The IL-18 SNP rs1946518 does not affect response to treatment in chronic HCV-4 patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt.
authors.forename: Mohamed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mandour
authors.affiliation: Department of Endemic and Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt.
authors.forename: Nader
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nemr
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt.
authors.forename: Rania
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kishk
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt.
authors.forename: Eman
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ahmed
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D005838:Genotype; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics*; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D020382:Interleukin-18 / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012254:Ribavirin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D020382:Interleukin-18; D012254:Ribavirin