Association of rheumatoid arthritis with a functional chemokine receptor, CCR5

CCR5Δ32 mutation does not influence the susceptibility to HCV infection, severity of liver disease and response to therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C

AIM: To study whether CCR5Δ32 mutation was associated with viral infection and severity of liver disease.

METHODS: Two hundred and fifty two histologically proven, chronic HCV patients (mean age: 41 ± 14 years; M/F: 164/88) were genotyped. PCR based genotyping of 32 bp deletion at the CCR5 locus was done. Four-hundred and eight matched healthy controls were studied to assess susceptibility to HCV infection. To assess correlation of immune gene polymorphism with severity of HCV related liver disease, patients with chronic HCV infection were divided into those with a fibrosis score of ≤ 2 (mild) or > 2 (severe) and histological activity index (HAI) of ≤ 5 or > 5. For correlation between CCR5Δ32 mutations and response to therapy, 129 patients who completed therapy were evaluated.

RESULTS: The majority (89.4%) of the patients were infected with genotype 3. The frequency of homozygous CCR5Δ32 mutants was comparable to HCV patients as compared to the healthy controls (0.7% vs 0%, P = 0.1). Further more, the frequency of CCR5∆32 mutation was comparable in patients with mild or severe liver disease. (P = NS). There was also no association observed with response to therapy and CCR5Δ32 mutation.

CONCLUSION: CCR5Δ32 mutation does not have a role in disease susceptibility, severity or response to therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C infection.