Abstract
BACKGROUND: To treat viral infection of chronic hepatitis C (CHC) is a main strategy to prevent progression of liver disease, and cancer. Some patients with CHC have failed to respond to the common antiviral therapy in different populations. OBJECTIVES: In the current study it was aimed to find out the possible role of multiple drug resistance gene1 (MDR1) in non-responder patients with CHC infection in Turkish population. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Peripheral blood-EDTA samples were used for total genomic DNA isolation. In total of 55 patients with chronic hepatitis C and positive results for genotype 1 [31 male (56.4%), 24 female (43.6%) and mean age-min-max; 56.9 ± 9.66 (39-71)]; 19 responder (34.5%), 21 non responder (38.2%), and 15 recurrence (27.3%) were included in the presented results. Functional MDR1 gene was genotyped by multiplex PCR-based reverse-hybridization Strip Assay method, and some samples were confirmed by direct sequencing. RESULTS: Our results indicate that MDR1 gene polymorphism is strongly associated with non-responder patients and those with recurrent chronic hepatitis C during conventional drug therapy when compared to the responder patients. Homozygous of the TT genotype for MDR1 exon 26 polymorphism was at 2.0-fold higher risk of non-responder than patients with CC and CT. CONCLUSIONS: The homozygous MDR1 3435TT genotype which encodes the xenobiotic transporter P-glycoprotein may be associated with a poor antiviral response in HCV chronicity during conventional therapy, and large-scale studies are needed to validate this association.