Biliverdin reductase A expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells is associated with treatment response to antiviral therapy in chronic hepatitis C patients
Abstrakt
Purpose of the study: Because of the side effects and high costs of the antiviral therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C (HCV), it is important to identify markers predicting treatment response. Since the heme oxygenase 1 (HMOX1) product biliverdin inhibits viral replication, enzymes of the heme catabolic pathway might represent such markers.
We aimed to assess the gene expression of key enzymes of heme catabolism, HMOX1 and biliverdin reductase A (BLVRA) in the liver and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of HCV patients.