LAUSR

Background: The IFNL4 rs368234815 polymorphism plays a prominent role in spontaneous and treatment-induced clearance of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. This study aimed to develop a polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method for assessment of rs368234815 polymorphism. Methods: We genotyped the rs368234815 polymorphism in 87 patients with chronic HCV by PCR sequencing and PCR-RFLP methods, simultaneously. Results: Genotyping of IFNL4 rs368234815 via PCR-RFLP was concordant with PCR sequencing in all 87 individuals (100%). The analytical sensitivity and specificity of the developed PCR-RFLP method for genotyping of rs368234815 polymorphism were each 100%. Among these patients with chronic HCV, the frequency of rs368234815 TT/TT, TT/&Dgr;G, and &Dgr;G/&Dgr;G were 44.8%, 37.9%, and 17.3%, respectively. Conclusions: The PCR-RFLP method that we developed is accurate, rapid, inexpensive, and easy to perform for genotyping of the IFNL4 rs368234815 polymorphism. This method can be used for clinical and research work.