Prevalence of interleukin-28B single nucleotide polymorphism genotypes in patients with hepatitis C infection in Isfahan, Iran

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis C infection is one of the most common causes of liver-related morbidity and mortality. Due to limited efficacy and side-effects of treatment, identification of the determinants of response to treatment is an important issue. Nowadays, genotyping of interleukin (IL)-28B is one of the strongest tests used for prediction of sustained virological response. The prevalence of IL28B genotypes varies across different ethnicities. This study presents data on IL28B single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) (rs12979860) in a group of Iranian hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected patients in Isfahan. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred patients already diagnosed for hepatitis C enrolled the study. Genomic DNA was extracted from whole blood samples. Specific primers were used to amplify IL28B gene (rs12979860). The rs129679860 SNP was genotyped by real-time polymerase chain reaction using TaqMan(®) probes. RESULTS: The mean age of patients was 33.16 years (25–42 years). Ninety-nine subjects were male and 1 was female. The frequency of HCV genotypes was as follows: Genotype 3a: 53%, genotype 1a: 42%, genotype 1b: 2%, mixed genotype (1a + 3a): 1% and 2%: Nontypable. IL28B rs12979860 genotypes were TT in 17 patients (17%), CT in 41 patients (41%), and CC in the remaining 42 patients (42%). CONCLUSION: The prevalence of C allele is much higher in our population study than in African American HCV patients (62.5% and 40% respectively), which can explain better response to treatment in our patients.