CD127 as a Novel Potential Marker for Clearance in Chronic Hepatitis C Virus Patients

Introduction; Chronic HCV infection is considered a major health problem, especially in developing countries. CD127 may be a novel marker to assess viral clearance and response to therapy in chronically infected patients. Objective; A case control study to assess CD127 in different CD8+ T cell subsets as a new marker to detect viral clearance and response to therapy in hepatitis C. We also determined the correlation between CD127 level and plasma HCV RNA load. Methods; Fifty three chronically infected HCV patients who presented to the Tropical Medicine and Internal Medicine Department of Ain Shams and Al Zahra university hospital respectively (in the period between October 2013 and September 2014) and twenty healthy volunteers were included in this study. Clinical laboratory data and plasma RNA viral load were measured. Blood sample was obtained and target cells were stained using fluorescent labeled monoclonal against CD8, CD27, CD45RA and CD127. Analysis of CD127 expression on different CD8+ T cells subsets and correlation of the level of expression of CD127 with hepatitis C viral load and liver enzyme. Results; The percentage of expression CD127 on different CD8+ T cell subsets was measured in HCV-infected patients. A significant difference was found between patients and control (p <0.001) regarding CD8+T cells (31.61+ .23vs 43.2+2.3) and their subsets. Negative correlation was found between viral loads and %of CD127 expression on CD8+T cells (r=-0.437). Conclusions; These findings suggest that CD127 could be used as a novel therapeutic and/or prognostic marker for assessment of interferon response in chronic hepatitis C patients.