C형 간염 바이러스로 인한 만성 간질환 환자에서 Hepatitis C Virus-RNA의 유전자형에 관한 연구

Background/Aims: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype is classified into 6 groups and such diversity is related with the detection rate of the virus, the severity of liver disease and the response to interferon treatment. Methods: We investigated the genotypes of HCV in anti-HCV-positive and HCV-RNA-positive patients with chronic liver disease in Pusan-Kyungnam area by polymerase chain reaction with type-specific primers from the core region. Results: Among the 107 patients, HCV genotype was determined in 105 cases (98.1%) and HCV genotype 1b was dominant (59.0%), followed by genotype 2a (33.4%) and 2b (5.7%). There were no significant differences in the prevalence of genotypes according to diagnosis, age, sex, serum alanine aminotransferase level. In cases of liver cirrhosis, genotype 1b was more predominant in the B group (83.3%) and the C group (100%) of Child-Pugh grades, and all patients with genotype 2a were graded as A group. There were no significant differences in the prevalence of genotypes according to the pathologic findings on liver biopsies. However, genotype 1b (10/13) was more frequently observed than genotype 2a (2/13) in patients with above-moderate fibrosis. Conclusions: Genotype 1b showed more advanced cirrhosis- grade and more severe fibrosis than other genotypes. Further study is required to prove this tendency. (Kor J Gastroenterol 2000;35:73 - 81)