Abstract
BACKGROUND: The single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of IL28B gene on chromosome 19, encoding for the interferon (IFN)-λ-3 is strongly associated with treatment response to pegylated-IFN and ribavirin in patients infected with different genotypes of hepatitis C virus (HCV). Difference between ethnicity and treatment response rates suggesting a key role of host genetics. The IL28B polymorphism (rs12979860C/T) shows a marked differential distribution between racial groups. AIM: The present study is aimed to evaluate genotype and allelic frequency of IL28B gene polymorphism (rs12979860C/T) in Andhra Pradesh, India. METHODS: A total of 220 healthy controls were recruited for the study. The genotyping of SNP rs12979860C/T on IL28B gene was performed by polymerase chain reaction-direct sequencing method. RESULT: The frequency of CC genotype was found to be significantly (59.09%) higher compared to CT (34.09%) and TT (6.81%) genotypes, respectively. The frequency of major allele C is 0.762 whereas minor allele T is 0.238. CONCLUSION: The higher distribution of genotype 'CC' of SNP, rs12979860C/T of IL28B gene in study subjects is suggestive of better response of HCV patients to standard anti-HCV therapy.