Telaprevir may induce adverse cutaneous reactions by a T cell immune-mediated mechanism

The HCV protease inhibitor telaprevir associated with peginterferon-alpha and ribavirin, was widely used in the recent past as standard treatment in HCV genotype-1 infected patients. Telaprevir improves the sustained virology response rates, but at the same time increases the frequency of adverse cutaneous reactions. However, mechanisms through which telaprevir induces cutaneous lesions are not yet defined. A 50-year-old woman, affected by HCV genotype 1b, was admitted to our Department for a telaprevir-related severe cutaneous eruptions, eight weeks after starting a triple therapy (telaprevir associated with Peginterferon-alpha and ribavirin). Mechanisms of cutaneous reactions were investigated by skin tests with non-irritating concentrations of telaprevir and by activating in vitro T lymphocyte with different concentrations. Immediate and delayed responses to skin testing were negative, but the drug-induced lymphocytes activation was significantly higher as compared to patient's baseline values and to parallel results obtained in three healthy subjects (p < 0.05). In conclusion, adverse cutaneous reactions of our patient were caused by a telaprevir-induced T-cell dependent immune mechanism.