Anti-E1E2 antibodies status prior therapy favors direct-acting antiviral treatment efficacy

Summary Introduction Presence of anti-E1E2 antibodies was previously associated with spontaneous cure of hepatitis C virus (HCV) and predictive before treatment of a sustained virological response (SVR) to bi- or tri-therapy in naive or experienced patients, regardless of HCV genotype. We investigated the impact of anti-E1E2 seroprevalence at baseline on treatment response in patients receiving direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy. Material and methods We screened anti-E1E2 antibodies by ELISA in serum samples collected at treatment initiation for two groups of patients: 59 with SVR at the end of DAA treatment and 44 relapsers after DAA treatment. Nineteen patients received a combination of ribavirin (RBV) or PEG-interferon/ribavirin with sofosbuvir or daclatasvir and others received interferon-free treatment with DAA ± RBV. HCV viral load was measured at different time points during treatment in a subgroup of patients. Results A significant association was observed between presence of anti-E1E2 and HCV viral load  Conclusions The presence of anti-E1E2 at treatment initiation is a predictive factor of SVR among patients treated with DAA and more likely among patients with low initial HCV viral load (