title: Monocyte chemotactic protein-1 as possible prognostic markers of the efficacy of antiviral treatment in chronic hepatitis C.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Antiviral therapy with interferon and ribavirin had been proved to be effective in Hepatitis C treatment. However, the valuable markers for monitoring the efficacy of antiviral therapy are required clinically. The present study aimed to evaluate the association between pretreatment levels of Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 levels (MCP-1) and the virological response in treated patients with chronic hepatitis C infection.
  
  
  METHODS
  Concentrations of MCP-1 in serum were determined in 165 patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) treated with interferon and ribavirin by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay before and 48 weeks after cessation of therapy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Pretreatment MCP-1 levels in patients with sustained virological response (SVR) were significantly lower than in non-responders (Non-SVR) (220.2 +/- 31.7 vs. 305.6 +/- 50.7 pg/mL, p = 0.009) and MCP-1 significantly decreased in patients with SVR (form 220.2 +/- 31.7 pg/mL to 140.2 +/- 26.7 pg/mL; p <0.01) but not in Non-SVR (form 305.6 +/- 50.7 pg/mL to 286.6 +/- 41.9 pg/mL; p = 0.17) after 48 weeks of treatment. By multivariate analysis, non-1 genotype was independent predictors of SVR in all patients. When multivariate analysis was restricted to patients with non-1 genotype, only pretreatment MCP-1 levels were identified as predictive factors of SVR.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  MCP-1 may be a prognostic marker of the efficacy of antiviral therapy in CHC patients.
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.forename: Wei-Lin
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.forename: Ji-Lu
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Ye
mesh_terms: D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D018932:Chemokine CCL2 / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000097:blood* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D012254:Ribavirin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D015415:Biomarkers; D018932:Chemokine CCL2; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D012254:Ribavirin