الفهرس 
HEPATITIS C VIRUSOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Hepatitis C is a disease with a significant global impact. According to the World Health Organization there are 130-170 million people infected with hepatitis C virus. Although the initial infection is frequently asymptomatic, there are several subsequent clinical manifestations, including fibrosis of the liver, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The Egypt Demographic and Health Survey reported that the most recent report in 2008 had estimated a prevalence of 14.9%. Many genetic factors influence the natural course of chronic hepatitis C. A number of polymorphisms in functional genes may influence the progression of hepatic fibrosis and may affect the viral load. Transforming growth factor-β is a potent well-known suppressor of NK cells that inhibits IFN-γ and IL-12 production and blocks the proliferation and cytotoxicity of NK cells. The 509C/T mutation in the TGF-β1 gene is associated with promoter activity and with the natural clearance of HCV. Moreover, TGFβ1 is the strongest known inducer of fibrogenesis in the effector cells of hepatic fibrosis. In this study we determine the TGF β1 509 C/T gene polymorphism by PCR-RFLP technique in chronic HCV patients and its relation to HCV viral load and stage of hepatic fibrosis. We concluded that the wild genotype CC and The C allele of TGF β1 509 was significantly higher in subjects with low HCV viral load compared with moderate to high viral load. There is no relation between the polymorphism of TGF β1 509 and the stage of hepatic fibrosis.