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Prediction of response to treatment of chronic hepatitis B with pegylated interferon in the Philippines
Author(s) -
Agdamag Dorothy M.,
Kageyama Seiji,
Leaño Prisca S.,
Solante Rontgene M.,
Telan Elizabeth F.,
Que Ernesto R.,
Ichimura Hiroshi
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of medical virology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 121
eISSN - 1096-9071
pISSN - 0146-6615
DOI - 10.1002/jmv.21549
Subject(s) - pegylated interferon , virology , genotype , hbeag , seroconversion , viral load , hepatitis b virus , population , medicine , interferon , genotyping , hepatitis b , biology , chronic hepatitis , virus , genetics , hbsag , ribavirin , gene , environmental health
The response marker for interferon has not been investigated fully for hepatitis B viruses (HBVs) in the Philippines where novel subtypes B5 and C5 were recognized recently. The prediction parameters for interferon treatment were assessed, with emphasis on the mutation patterns in the basal core promoter and precore regions in patients with chronic hepatitis B. Seventeen HBeAg‐positive patients were stratified according to response to treatment with pegylated interferon based on HBe seroconversion and HBV load. Intra‐patient distributions of wild‐type strains (A1762, G1764) and variants (T1762, A1764) were analyzed using HBV‐DNA amplification and subsequent molecular cloning. The rate of variants (T1762, A1764) harbored by a patient was higher among responders (41.2% and 31% per person on average) than among non‐responders (2.4% and 2.4%) to treatment with pegylated interferon at the baseline, respectively ( P < 0.05). The rate of variants (T1762, A1764) harbored by responders (41.2% and 31%) decreased to 1.7% and 1.7%, and wild‐type strains (A1762, G1764) conversely became majority (98.3% and 98.3%) after treatment with pegylated interferon, respectively. HBV strains harbored by two of six responders and a patient with lower baseline load (1.0 × 10 4 copies/ml) showed genotype shift from A to other genotypes, where genotype A disappeared preferentially after the loss of HBeAg and genotypes B and C formed a major population. These results suggest that the HBV variants (T1762, A1764) and HBV genotype A in the Philippines have an advantage in the response to pegylated interferon. These results warrant a large‐scale examination for further precise prediction of the response to treatment with interferon. J. Med. Virol. 82:213–219, 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.