Correlation of IL28B rs12979860 genotype and gender with spontaneous clearance of HCV infection: a Pakistani cross-section study.

Aim: There is a strong correlation of IL28B rs12979860 genetic variations and gender with spontaneous clearance of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.

Materials & Methods: HCV-infected subjects were categorized into HCV spontaneous clearance (SC) group and chronic hepatitis C (CHC) group on the basis of anti-HCV antibodies and HCV RNA level and follow-up of 6 months. 35 subjects were classified in SC group and 165 subjects were classified in CHC group. IL28B rs12979860 genotypes were determined by allele-specific PCR.

Results & Conclusion: Multinominal logistic regression analyses revealed that both genders favor IL28B rs12979860 CT genotype (OR: 4.80; CI: 2.22-10.35; p = 0.0005) and (OR: 3.47; CI: 1.63-7.43; p = 0.001) for male and female, respectively, are significant in spontaneous clearance of HCV infection.