Abstract
Aim:The aim of this article is to assess HFE C282Y gene mutations as a predictor of sustained virological response (SVR) to anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment in Egyptian patients.Materials and methods:One hundred and forty chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients were divided into two groups: 70 patients achieved SVR and 70 patients were nonresponders (NRs). All patients were subjected to quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) at baseline, 12 and 24 weeks after therapy commencement. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequencing for HFE (C282Y) was done by restriction fragment length polymorphism PCR.Results:Sixty five patients did not have mutation and 5 patients had C282Y mutation (GA) with SVR. While 45 NRs had heterozygous C282Y mutation (GA), 4 patients (5.7%) had homozygous mutation (AA) and 21 patients (30%) had no mutation (GG). The parameters of elevated iron [transferrin saturation (TS; p < 0.001), S iron (p < 0.02), total iron binding capacity (TIBC; p < 0.001), transferrin (p < 0.016), and soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR; p-value, 0.001)] were significantly associated with C282Y mutation. However, there was no significant difference regarding ferritin values and C282Y mutation in NR patients.Conclusion:Iron overload was frequently detected in CHC patients and associated with C282Y mutation, while biochemical markers of iron overload and C282Y HFE mutation were negative prognostic factor.How to cite this article: Mehrez MI, Fattah DSA, Azeem NAA, Saleh MA, Mostafa KM. Hemochromatosis Gene Polymorphism as a Predictor of Sustained Virological Response to Antiviral Treatment in Egyptian Chronic Hepatitis C Patients. Euroasian J Hepato-Gastroenterol 2017;7(2):154-157.
Highlights
The World Health Organization has declared hepatitis C as a global health problem, with approximately 3% of the world’s population infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV).[1]
Iron overload was frequently detected in chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients and associated with C282Y mutation, while biochemical markers of iron overload and C282Y HFE mutation were negative prognostic factor
A high statistically significant difference was observed between NR and sustained virological response (SVR) regarding GG, GA, and AA genotype, which was absent in SVR group (Table 2)
Summary
The World Health Organization has declared hepatitis C as a global health problem, with approximately 3% of the world’s population infected with HCV.[1] Egypt has the highest prevalence of HCV in the world at 12 to 13%.2. 20% of blood donors are HCV Ab positive.[3] Iron overload in the liver induces oxidative stress, which was a factor of cell membrane damage, DNA instability, and mutagenesis. Due to these effects, iron can be considered a proinflammatory, profibrogenic factor, and a potential carcinogen. Since the implementation of serological diagnostic tests for HCV identification, elevated serum iron overload indices or appearance of iron deposits in liver cells have been observed in 10 to
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