الفهرس 
HEPATITIS C VIRUSOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
I
nfection with HCV can cause severe liver diseases, e.g. the development of hepatitis, cirrhosis and even hepatocellular carcinoma. The outcome and course of HCV infection is most likely determined by a complex interplay of genetic, immunological and virological factors. An essential process for resolution of viral infection is the efficient recognition and elimination of intracellular virus.
HLA molecules play a major role in the immune response, so that CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) recognize viral antigens synthesized within infected cells in the form of short peptides associated with HLA class I molecules.
The aim of this work was to investigate the relationship between HLA-B alleles and HCV viral load as well as with the clinical data in chronic HCV infection.
This study was performed on 40 patients with chronic HCV infection. They were subjected to quantitative PCR by real time PCR for HCV-RNA and HLA-B typing by SSO technique. The results of the study revealed the following:
1) The frequencies of HLA-B15 and -B41 alleles were significantly higher in patients than in controls (p<0.05) while HLA-B13 and -B45 alleles were absent in the patients group but they were found in the control group (P<0.05).
2) The frequency of HLA-B35 allele was significantly higher in patients with moderate or high viraemia than in patients with low viraemia (p<0.05).
3) The frequency of HLA-B14 allele was significantly higher in patients with elevated liver enzymes than in patients with normal liver enzymes (P<0.05).
4) There is no correlation between the level of liver enzymes and the level of viraemia.