Natural killer cell receptor and HLA-C gene polymorphisms among patients with hepatitis C: a comparison between sustained virological responders and non-responders

Background/Aims: Killer cell immunoglobulin‐like receptors (KIR) are involved in the activation/inhibition of NK cells through an interaction with HLA class I molecules on target cells. Our study aimed to evaluate the association between KIR gene polymorphisms and the response of patients with CHC to antiviral therapy. Methods: We compared the frequency of KIR genes, as well as that of compound KIR/HLA‐C genotypes, between groups of patients with CHC who presented a sustained virological response (n=66) and who were non‐responders to a combination of pegylated or standard interferon and ribavirin (n=101). KIR and HLA‐C genotyping were performed using commercial kits. Results: We detected a greater frequency of the KIR2DL5 gene among non‐responders to antiviral therapy compared with sustained virological responders (68.3 vs. 40.9%) (P