Interleukin 28B Genotyping as a Predictor Marker for Responsiveness of HCV Patients to Therapy

Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) in the IL-28B gene, namely rs12979860 and rs8099917 could predict response to pegylated interferon and ribavirin therapy in hepatitis C virus patients. The current study investigated 50 Iraqi HCV infected patients with HCV genotype1 and 4 compared to 40 healthy individuals. For rs12979860, the homozygous C allele genotype (CC) showed high rate of viral response (75 %) compared to other genotypes CT and TT (66.6 %, 45, 4 % respectively). For rs8099917, interestingly the homozygous G allele genotype (GG) showed no response (0 %) while other genotypes TG and TT showed (58.6 %, 63.1 %) respectively. Our findings highlight an association of IL28B rs12979860 and rs8099917 genotypes, and HCV genotyping which is useful in clinical practice for patients risk stratification based on interferon responsiveness.