IFNL4 ss469415590 variant is a better predictor than rs12979860 of pegylated interferon-alpha/ribavirin therapy failure in hepatitis C virus/HIV-1 coinfected patients

Abstract

A new transiently induced region (interferon-λ 4 protein; IFNL4) harbouring a dinucleotide variant ss469415590 (TT or ΔG), upstream of IFNL3 (IL28B), was recently found to be associated with hepatitis C virus (HCV) clearance. To determine the effect of IFLN4 ss469415590 variation on the HCV response to IFN-based therapy in HCV/HIV-1 coinfected patients, ss469415590 was genotyped in a cohort of 207 patients from our clinic. Treatment failure occurred in 77% of minor ΔG-allele carriers versus 48% of noncarriers, indicating that the ΔG allele was strongly associated with treatment failure. Importantly, multivariate logistic analysis revealed that ss469415590 genotype was a better predictor of treatment failure than rs12979860.