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Selective decrease in hepatitis C virus-specific immunity among African Americans and outcome of antiviral therapy

Hugo R Rosen1, Scott J Weston, KyungAh Im

  • 1Integrated Program in Immunology and Hepatitis C Research Center, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of Colorado, Denver, CO, USA. hugo.rosen@uchsc.edu

Hepatology (Baltimore, Md.)
|July 31, 2007
PubMed

Insights

African Americans exhibit weaker Hepatitis C virus (HCV)-specific immunity compared to Caucasians. Pretreatment immune response significantly impacts the success of antiviral therapy for chronic HCV infection.

Area of Science:

  • Immunology
  • Hepatology
  • Virology

Background:

  • Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major global cause of liver disease and cancer.
  • Racial disparities exist in HCV natural history and treatment outcomes, but underlying mechanisms are poorly understood.
  • Type 1 helper (Th1) immune responses are crucial for controlling viral infections.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate racial differences in HCV-specific T cell immunity between Caucasian Americans (CAs) and African Americans (AAs).
  • To determine the association between HCV-specific immunity and sustained virologic response (SVR) to antiviral therapy.

Main Methods:

  • Used interferon (IFN)-gamma enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) assay to measure Th1 responses to HCV and cytomegalovirus (CMV) antigens.
  • Analyzed 187 CAs and 187 AAs with chronic genotype 1 HCV infection.
  • Correlated immune responses with human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class II alleles and treatment outcomes.

Main Results:

  • African Americans (AAs) demonstrated significantly lower Th1 responses to HCV core protein and combined antigens compared to Caucasian Americans (CAs).
  • Cytomegalovirus (CMV)-specific responses were comparable between racial groups.
  • Lower HCV-specific immunity in AAs persisted after adjusting for clinical factors and was not explained by HLA class II allele differences.
  • Pretreatment HCV-specific CD4+ T cell response was significantly associated with achieving SVR to pegylated IFN and ribavirin therapy (43% vs. 28% SVR).

Conclusions:

  • African Americans exhibit weaker Hepatitis C virus (HCV)-specific immunity compared to Caucasian Americans.
  • Pretreatment HCV-specific immunity is a significant predictor of successful response to combination antiviral therapy.
Abstract

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