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Are FoxP3 + cells involved in hyporesponsiveness to interferon/ribavirin therapy in chronic hepatitis C?
Author(s) -
Westin J.,
Hellstrand K.,
Dhillon A. P.,
Lagging M.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of viral hepatitis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.329
H-Index - 100
eISSN - 1365-2893
pISSN - 1352-0504
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2893.2010.01277.x
Subject(s) - ribavirin , immunosuppression , foxp3 , medicine , interferon , immunology , chronic hepatitis , hepatitis c , hepatitis c virus , viral hepatitis , virus , immune system
Summary. We aimed to clarify the role of liver‐infiltrating FoxP3 + T cells for the response to therapy in chronic hepatitis C. Liver biopsies from 52 patients were collected prior to the start of interferon/ribavirin treatment, and the kinetics of viral decay during treatment were compared in patients with high and low infiltration of FoxP3 + cells. These groups did not differ with respect to the effectiveness of early viral clearance or the frequency of sustained viral response. Our data imply that FoxP3 + cell‐mediated immunosuppression is not a major mechanism of hyporesponsiveness to interferon‐based therapy in chronic hepatitis C.