HLA Class II-DR Alleles In Chronic HCV Infection

Abstract

HCV infection may result in a variety of outcomes ranging from asymptomatic carriage to severe hepatitis, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. A number of factors are thought to influence the outcome in HCV infection, including mode of transmission, virus strain and coinfection with other viruses such as the human immune­ deficiency virus (HIV). Host factors, such as variation in the immune response, are also thought to be important in determining the extent of HCV disease. Thus, variation in the immune response, including polymorphism of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), may be a factor in determining out come in HCV infection. The aim of this work was to elucidate the frequency of HLA class II DR alleles in HCV infected Egyptian population. Our study was performed on 29 HCV infected patients who received peginterferon and ribavirin as treatment for HCV, the patients were followed up over a period of 3 months to show responder from non responder patients.