Abstract
Background/Aims: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) remains the most common cause of chronic liver disease in
Egypt. Despite the high prevalence of HCV and Schistosoma mansoni (S. mansoni) in Egypt, the effect of co-infection on the immune response against HCV genotype
4a has not been extensively examined.
Methods: We evaluated the HCV 4a-specific responses against the core and non-structural 5B
proteins in chronic HCV with or without S. mansoni co-infection in 38 volunteers from Egypt.
Results: HCV 4a-specific responses were detected in 8/15 and 13/23 individuals with HCV alone
or with concomitant schistosomiasis, respectively. Despite the alteration in the Th1
cytokine profile caused by schistosomiasis, the overall immune response rate against
HCV was not affected (P=0.11). Seven individuals demonstrated HCV-specific responses against conserved regions
of the Core that were previously identified for genotypes 1, 2 and 3 despite differences
in HLA class I distribution.
Conclusions: Egyptian patients infected with HCV genotype 4 can mount HCV-specific T cell responses,
both CD4+ and CD8+ T cell-mediated, despite the prevalence of concomitant schistosomiasis. These findings
suggest that S. mansoni co-infection may not represent a major obstacle to developing an HCV vaccine in this
population.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
October 2,
2003
Received in revised form:
September 19,
2003
Received:
March 19,
2003
Footnotes
☆Note: The opinions and assertions expressed in this manuscript are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the US Navy, the US Department of Defense, the US Government, or the Egyptian Ministry of Health.
Identification
Copyright
© 2003 European Association for the Study of the Liver. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
