Interferon λ:a new therapeutic option for chronic hepatitis C
ZHANG Ye
NIE Qing-he
Abstract：HCV infection is associated with many major liver diseases. The current standard-of-care therapy for HCV infection is a combination of pegylated interferon (Peg-IFN) α and ribavirin. Although the therapy effectively generates a sustained virological response in approximately 60% of the treated patients with chronic hepatitis C, the obvious hematological and neurological adverse reactions limit its extensive use. Nowadays, a new IFN family, named as type Ⅲ IFN or IFN λ(including IFNλ1, 2, and 3; or alternately, interleukin-29, 28A and 28B, respectively) possesses properties that may make these cytokines superior to Peg-IFN α for HCV treatment. Genetic studies have also revealed that the single nucleotide polymorphisms of these proteins were also correlated with the prognosis of the treatment of chronic HCV infection. This review summarizes the biological functions of IFNλand the outlook for its therapeutic application in HCV infection.
Keywords：hepacivirushepatitis Cchronictherapeuticsribavirininterferons
Publication Date：2014-01-01
Online Publishing Date：2025-08-15(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：5( 245-249 )