Expression of RIG-I gene in peripheral blood of patients with chronic hepatitis C and its correlations with hepatitis C virus load and type I interferon gene expression

Objective To detect the expression of retinoic acid-inducible gene Ⅰ (RIG-Ⅰ) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC), and to explore its correlations with type Ⅰ interferon gene expression and serum level of hepatitis C virus. Methods A total of 101 naive patients with CHC were enrolled from Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University during July 2014 and July 2015, and 69 healthy subjects served as controls. The expressions of RIG-Ⅰ, IFNα and IFNβ mRNA in PBMCs and serum level of HCV RNA were detected by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Pearson correlation analysis was performed to investigate the correlations of RIG-Ⅰ mRNA expression with IFNα/β mRNA expression and serum level of HCV RNA. Results The relative expressions of RIG-Ⅰ, IFNα, IFNβ mRNA to healthy controls in CHC group were 0.082, 0.022 and 0.156, respectively (t=7.83, 3.65 and 2.13, all P 0.05). Conclusion Expression of RIG-Ⅰ mRNA decreases in patients with CHC, and is positively correlated with that of IFNα and IFNβ mRNA. Key words: Hepatitis C, chronic; Retinoic acid inducible gene Ⅰ; Interferon type Ⅰ; Polymerase chain reaction