Spontaneous clearance of hepatitis C infection after liver transplantation from IL28B rs12979860 CC donors

Abstract

Genetic polymorphisms adjacent to IL28B have been previously associated with spontaneous clearance of hepatitis C virus (HCV) and a higher rate of sustained virological response to interferon-based treatment in HCV genotype 1-infected patients. A recent study has shown that patients with the CC genotype of the rs12979860 single nucleotide polymorphism upstream from the IL28B gene are more likely to clear HCV spontaneously relative to the CT or TT genotype. In the liver transplant cohort, HCV recurs almost universally in patients with detectable HCV RNA at the time of transplantation. The spontaneous clearance of HCV infection after transplant is very rare. We report two cases of spontaneous clearance of HCV genotype 1 infection after liver transplantation from homozygous IL28B CC donors. This finding may be explained by alterations in the host immune responses to HCV after transplantation with a CC donor liver, which has potential implications for donor selection in HCV-positive recipients.