Impact of Interferon‐Ribavirin Treatment on Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Protease Quasispecies Diversity in HIV‐ and HCV‐Coinfected Patients

The Journal of Infectious Diseases 2010;202:000–000
This article is in the public domain, and no copyright is claimed.
0022-1899/2010/20206-00XX$15.00
DOI: 10.1086/655784

BRIEF REPORT

Aarthi Chary, 1,2 Mark A. Winters, 1,2 Shyam Kottilil, 3,4 Alison A. Murphy, 3 Michael A. Polis, 4 and Mark Holodniy 1,2

1 AIDS Research Center, Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, and 2 Division of Infectious Diseases, Stanford University, Stanford, California; 3 Immunopathogenesis Section, 4 Laboratory of Immunoregulation, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, United States Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, Maryland

Patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) coinfection for whom prior treatment of HCV with interferon‐ribavirin has failed may require subsequent treatment with new HCV protease inhibitors (PIs). We evaluated the diversity of HCV nonstructural protein 3 (NS3) in 26 HCV‐ and HIV‐coinfected patients receiving stable antiretroviral therapy (ART) who were treated with interferon‐ribavirin. Plasma HCV RNA clonal analysis was performed. There was greater baseline NS3 diversity in patients with nonresponse or relapse than in those with sustained virologic response. Interferon‐ribavirin treatment did not result in significant changes in HCV protease gene diversity or significant HCV PI resistance mutations. The effect of prior interferon‐ribavirin treatment on HCV NS3 will likely not impact HCV PI efficacy in HIV‐coinfected patients receiving ART.

Received 25 February 2010; accepted 14 April 2010; electronically published 2 August 2010.

Reprints or correspondence: Dr Aarthi Chary, VA Palo Alto Health Care System, 3801 Miranda Ave (132), Palo Alto, CA 94304 (charya@stanford.edu).

Potential conflicts of interest: none reported.

Financial support: Department of Veterans Affairs; Intramural Research Program of the National Institutes of Health (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and National Institutes of Health Clinical Center; project Z01 AI000390‐25 and ZIA AI00390‐26 to S.K.).

The content of this publication does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Department of Health and Human Services or the Department of Veterans Affairs, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the US government.

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