Abstract
Objective. Interferon (IFN)-γ-induced protein-10 (IP-10) serum level has been shown be associated with viral response in chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients. However, little is known in Chinese population. We determined IP-10 serum levels in Chinese CHC patients undergoing PEG-IFN-based therapy. Predictive role of IP-10 level for virological responses was accessed. Material and methods. IP-10 serum levels were determined in 165 hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1 and 33 genotype 2 patients. Multivariate analysis was performed to screen independent factors for sustained virological response (SVR) prediction. Predictive value of IP-10 level in combination with interleukin 28B (IL28B) genotype or rapid virological response was further investigated. Results. Our study showed that pretreatment IP-10 level was significantly higher in HCV genotype 1 patients. IP-10 levels were independently predictive for SVR with cut-off values of 250.60 pg/ml at baseline or 407.40 pg/ml at week 4. Positive predictive value (PPV) for SVR of low IP-10 level at baseline and IL28B CC genotype was 96.15% and negative predictive value (NPV) was 50.00%. PPV for SVR of low IP-10 level at week 4 and rapid viral response (RVR) was 95.24% and NPV was 50.00%. Conclusion. Together our study indicated that higher IP-10 serum levels were associated with HCV genotype 1 CHC Chinese patients. IP-10 levels at baseline and week 4 were both predictive of SVR and improved predictive performances of IL28B genotype and RVR for SVR.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by grants from the National Science and Technology Major Project for Infectious Diseases Control during the 12th Five-Year Plan (grant no. 2012ZX10002003), National S&T Basic Work Program of China (grant no. 2013FY113900), Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Program (grant no. Z131110001913199), and Project of Beijing City Science and Technology Nova (2011013).
Declaration of interest: The authors declared that they have no conflict of interest in this study.