Association of macrophage inhibitory factor -1 polymorphisms with antiviral efficacy of type 1b chronic hepatitis C

Abstract

The expression of macrophage inhibitory factor-1 (MIC-1) increases in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC), but whether MIC-1 level and its polymorphism affect the antiviral efficacy of CHC has not yet been reported. The present study aimed to investigate the association between MIC-1 polymorphism and antiviral efficacy in patients with CHC genotype 1b (CHC 1b). A total of 171 patients with CHC1b were recruited. The polymorphisms of rs1059369 and rs1059519 in MIC-1 were detected by DNA sequencing. All patients received a standard dose of polyethylene glycol interferon + ribavirin (PR regimen), and divided into response, nonresponse, sustained virological response (SVR), and non-sustained virological response (NSVR) groups based on HCV RNA levels. The genotype distribution of the two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) did not differ between the response and nonresponse groups, SVR and non-SVR groups. However, the level of MIC-1 was positively correlated with ALT, AST, PIIINP, CIV, and HCV RNA (P < 0.05). Compared to before treatment, the level of MIC-1 in plasma was significantly decrease in the response group but not in the non-responsive group. Our results suggest that the level of MIC-1 in CHC1b is correlated with liver cell injury, liver fibrosis index, and viral load. However, the polymorphism of rs1059369 and rs1059519 may have negligible impact in expression of MIC-1 and efficacy of antiviral therapy in CHC patient.

Keywords: Antiviral therapy; Chronic hepatitis C; Macrophage inhibitory factor-1; Single nucleotide polymorphisms.

Fig. 1

Comparison of CHC 1b patients before and after treatment of plasma MIC-1. The level of MIC-1 in the response group was significantly different between after treatment and before treatment (P = 0.04). Similarly, significant difference was observed in the MIC-1 between the response and nonresponse groups after treatment (P = 0.002)

Fig. 2

mic-1 polymorphism sequence. The arrow point indicates the corresponding SNP rs1059519[C/G] and rs1059369[A/T]

Fig. 3

rs1059369 genotypes based levels of MIC-1 in CHC 1b patients before and after treatmentNo significant difference was detected in the MIC-1 level among different genotypes of rs1059369 in before or after treatment

Fig. 4

rs1059519 genotypes based levels of MIC-1 in CHC 1b patients before and after treatmentNo significant difference was detected in the MIC-1 level among different genotypes of rs1059519 in before or after treatment