Combination of Genes May Enable Hepatitis C Recovery Without Treatment, Study Says
August 9, 2004
A specific gene combination may explain why 20% of people infected with hepatitis C are able to clear the infection from their bodies without treatment, according to a study published in the August 6 issue of Science, the AP/Las Vegas Sun reports. Three million people in the United States and 180 million people worldwide are chronically infected with hepatitis C, leaving them at risk for developing liver cancer or liver failure; 10,000 to 12,000 people in the United States die from hepatitis C annually (Neergaard, AP/Las Vegas Sun, 8/5). Approximately 300,000 HIV-positive people in the United States are co-infected with hepatitis C (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 7/30). Researchers from the University of Southampton in England and colleagues examined the DNA of 1,037 hepatitis C patients, 352 of whom had recovered without treatment. Previous studies of the virus in chimpanzees suggested that natural killer cells -- which attack viruses in the body -- are more active in animals that had recovered from hepatitis C infection. Inhibitory receptors called KIRs keep natural killer cells in check between infections so that they do not attack healthy tissue. When the body detects a viral infection, it activates the natural killer cells by inhibiting its KIRs, according to the AP/Sun.
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This article was provided by Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. It is a part of the publication Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report. Visit the Kaiser Family Foundation's website to find out more about their activities, publications and services.