title: Associations between human TRIM22 gene expression and the response to combination therapy with Peg-IFNα-2a and ribavirin in Iranian patients with chronic hepatitis C.
abstract: Interferons are able to exert an antiviral effect against hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection via induction of interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs). This study tested whether differential expression of an important ISG with antiviral properties, tripartite motif 22 (TRIM22), correlates with a response to Peg-IFNα-2a/RBV combination therapy in treatment-naive patients with chronic hepatitis C. A total of 32 patients with chronic hepatitis C were enrolled in this study and received standard Peg-IFNα-2a/RBV combination therapy. HCV viral load was measured during treatment, at the end of treatment, and 6 months later to determine the treatment outcome. Quantitative real-time PCR was used to assess the expression levels of TRIM22 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of the patients before antiviral therapy. Of the 32 patients, 26 (81.3%) were males. In this study, there were 16 (50%) individuals with a sustained virologic response (SVR), and a virologic relapse was observed in the remaining half of the subjects. Testing for the presence of genomic HCV RNA in blood during therapy revealed a rapid virologic response (RVR) in 10 (31.2%) and a partial and complete early virologic response (EVR) in 8 (25%) and 24 (75%) of the cases, respectively. TRIM22 mRNA levels were significantly higher in patients with a sustained virologic response than in relapsers (P = 0.002) and in patients with a rapid virologic response than in the others (P = 0.040). No statistically significant difference was seen in the expression of TRIM22 between patients with a partial early virologic response and a complete early virologic response. This study showed that pretreatment upregulation of TRIM22 may be associated with responsiveness to Peg-IFNα-2a/RBV combination therapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Farzin
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sadeghi
authors.forename: Farah
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bokharaei-Salim
authors.forename: Mostafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Salehi-Vaziri
authors.forename: Seyed Hamidreza
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Monavari
authors.forename: Seyed Moayed
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Alavian
authors.forename: Shima
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Salimi
authors.forename: Rouhollah
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vahabpour
authors.forename: Hossein
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Keyvani
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000097:blood* / Q000188:drug therapy; D006801:Humans; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007492:Iran; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015778:Minor Histocompatibility Antigens; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012097:Repressor Proteins / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics*; D012254:Ribavirin / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D000070584:Tripartite Motif Proteins; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D015778:Minor Histocompatibility Antigens; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D012097:Repressor Proteins; C094314:TRIM22 protein, human; D000070584:Tripartite Motif Proteins; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D012254:Ribavirin; C100416:peginterferon alfa-2a
keywords: hepatitis C virus; pegylated IFNα-2a; ribavirin; tripartite motif 22