LAUSR

Sofosbuvir (SOF) and daclatasvir combination with or without ribavirin proved to be effective and safe in the treatment of hepatitis C virus infection. The study aimed to assess the efficacy of (SOF plus daclatasvir) combination + ribavirin in the treatment of treatment‐experienced HCV genotype 4 Egyptian patients and to investigate the impact of IL‐1β _31, IL‐1β _511, and IL‐1RN and T29C of ESR1 genes polymorphisms on treatment outcome. The study also aimed to assess the effect of the treatment on liver fibrosis. The sustained virologic response was assessed at 0, 4, 12, and 24 weeks from the beginning of treatment by RT‐PCR. IL‐1β _31, IL‐1β _511, IL‐1RN, and T29C genes polymorphisms were examined by PCR‐based techniques in two groups of patients (responders and non‐responders) and a control group of healthy subjects. A significant association between IL‐1β_511 gene polymorphism and SOF/DAV‐induced response was observed, where the “CC” genotype was the most frequent in responders while the “CT” genotype was the most frequent among non‐responders (P = 0.0001, OR = 39; 95% CI = 4.7–316). IL‐1RN gene polymorphism also showed significant associations with response to treatment, genotypes that include allele “1” were the most frequent in responders, particularly the homozygous genotype “1/1” (P = 0.0001, OR = 2.3; 95% CI = 1.57–3.2). However, the genotypes “4/4” and “2/4” were the most frequent in non‐responders; (P = 0.0001). At least 71% of the responders carry allele “1” while 54% of non‐responders were allele “4” carriers (P value = 0.0001. OR = 2.8; 95% CI = 6.4–134.2). Liver fibrosis is significantly improved regardless of the response. © 2018 IUBMB Life, 70(11):1156–1163, 2018