FOKI VITAMIN D RECEPTOR POLYMORPHISM AS A PREDICTOR OF RESPONSE TO HEPATITIS C ANTIVIRAL TREATMENT

Background: FokI vitamin D receptor (VDR) genotype ff has been debated as predictor of response to treatment. This study was designed to find out the association of FokI VDR polymorphism with response to chronic hepatitis C daclatasvir- and sofosbuvir-based treatment. Methods: This case control study was conducted at Federal Postgraduate Medical Institute, Lahore from Jan 2019 to Apr 2021. It included 66 chronic hepatitis C genotype 3 patients who responded to daclatasvir and sofosbuvir-based treatment (with ribavirin for cirrhotic patients) and attained sustained virologic response (SVR) three months after complete treatment, and another 66 gender and age matched chronic hepatitis C genotype 3 patients who did not respond to the treatment. Demographic data was collected and 3 mL of blood was drawn from each participant. DNA extraction was done followed by PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism. Samples were run on 12% polyacrylamide gel and visualized under UV light. Data was analysed using SPSS-24. Results: Frequencies of FokI VDR genotypes FF, Ff, and ff were 54.5%, 28.8%, and 16.7% in responders, and 60.6%, 36.4%, 3.0% in non-responders. There was a significant association between FokI VDR polymorphism and response to treatment (p=0.03). No significant association was found between FokI polymorphism and cirrhosis. Logistic regression showed FokI genotype ff to be a significant predictive factor for a SVR (p=0.041). Conclusion: FokI VDR polymorphism is associated with response to daclatasvir- and sofosbuvir-based antiviral treatment in chronic hepatitis C genotype 3 patients. FokI genotype ff could be considered as a predictive marker for response to treatment.