Genetic variability of hepatitis C virus NS3 protein in human leukocyte antigen‐A2 liver transplant recipients with recurrent hepatitis C

The association between the severity of chronic hepatitis C and the variability of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) genome remains controversial, but to our knowledge few data are available to date regarding T‐cell epitope coding regions in transplant patients. In the current study, we identified 21 human leukocyte antigen (HLA)‐A2‐positive Spanish patients with chronic hepatitis C, 14 immunosuppressed liver transplant recipients, and 7 immunocompetent controls. Alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, viral load, and rate of fibrosis progression were determined. Genetic distances of HCV isolates and variations in epitopes of the HCV nonstructural 3 protein (NS3‐1393 LIFCHSKKK and NS3‐1406 KLVALGINAV) were compared between patients with slow or fast progression of fibrosis. Isolates from transplant patients with fast progression were found to be more divergent (P =.03), had a higher mean value of synonymous (dS) variations (P =.02), and some were differentiated in a phylogenetic tree, compared with isolates from patients with slow progression. The HLA‐A2‐restricted NS3‐1406 epitope was found to be more variable (20 of 21 isolates differed from the prototype) compared with the A3‐restricted NS3‐1392 epitope (19% vs. 1.25% variation). A shift in the viral peptide was not detected in a subset of transplant patients, but was evident in two of three nontransplant patients with follow‐up. There was no correlation noted between a particular amino acid variation and fibrosis progression (slow or fast) in either transplant or nontransplant patients. The results of the current study suggest that 1) there may be different HCV‐1b strains in our geographic area, 2) immunosuppression appears to have little effect in amino acid variation at the HCV NS3‐1406 epitope, and 3) variations over time might be more frequent in nonimmunosuppressed patients. (Liver Transpl 2004;10:217–227.)