Abstract
Hepatitis C is considered a major public health problem caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV). Viral infections are known to induce production of IL1β through the signaling pathway of inflammasomes. Emerging evidences suggest that Inflammasome genes may influence the immune response against HCV as the host genetic background may contribute to the balance between acute and chronic inflammation. We investigated in 151 patients with chronic hepatitis C and 206 healthy blood donors' individuals (HD). Polymorphisms in the IL1B and IL18 genes were genotyped by PCR-RFLP, while NLRP3, CARD8, CTSB and AIM2 by RT- PCR. Serum assay of IL-1β cytokine was performed by ELISA. 84 patients presented mild fibrosis (