Impact of genetic polymorphisms of four cytokine genes on treatment induced viral clearance in HCV infected Egyptian patients

Many factors contribute for viral clearance and response to antiviral therapy. Genetic polymorphisms of cytokines, chemokines, and their receptors can alter the immune response against Hepatitis C virus (HCV). The aim of the current study is to assess single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the promoter region of IL-10, TNF-α, IFN-γ and TGF-β as predictors of response to combined Pegylated interferon α/ribavirin (PEG–IFN/RBV) therapy in chronic HCV infected Egyptian patients. The study was conducted on 150 HCV infected patients and 100 apparently healthy control subjects. All patients were treated with PEG–IFN/RBV. They were classified according to their response to treatment. Genotyping of IL-10, TNF-α, IFN-γ and TGF-β were performed on peripheral blood DNA using polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment-length polymorphism (PCR–RFLP) and primer specific assays. Overall, 83/150 (55.3%) patients achieved sustained virological response (SVR), whereas 67 (44.7%) did not. Age and BMI were significantly lower in patients who achieved SVR (P