Efficacy, safety, and pharmacokinetics of capsid assembly modulator linvencorvir plus standard of care in chronic hepatitis B patients.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Four-week treatment of linvencorvir (RO7049389) was generally safe and well tolerated, and showed anti-viral activity in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients. This study evaluated the efficacy, safety, and pharmacokinetics of 48-week treatment with linvencorvir plus standard of care (SoC) in CHB patients. METHODS: This was a multicentre, non-randomized, non-controlled, open-label phase 2 study enrolling three cohorts: nucleos(t)ide analogue (NUC)-suppressed patients received linvencorvir plus NUC (Cohort A, n=32); treatment-naïve patients received linvencorvir plus NUC without (Cohort B, n=10) or with (Cohort C, n=30) pegylated interferon-α (Peg-IFN-α). Treatment duration was 48 weeks, followed by NUC alone for 24 weeks. RESULTS: 68 patients completed the study. No patient achieved functional cure (sustained HBsAg loss and unquantifiable HBV DNA). By Week 48, 89% of treatment-naïve patients (10/10 Cohort B; 24/28 Cohort C) reached unquantifiable HBV DNA. Unquantifiable HBV RNA was achieved in 92% of patients with quantifiable baseline HBV RNA (14/15 Cohort A, 8/8 Cohort B, 22/25 Cohort C) at Week 48 along with partially sustained HBV RNA responses in treatment-naïve patients during follow-up period. Pronounced reductions in HBeAg and HBcrAg were observed in treatment-naïve patients, while HBsAg decline was only observed in Cohort C. Most adverse events were grade 1-2, and no linvencorvir-related serious adverse events were reported. CONCLUSION: 48-week linvencorvir plus SoC was generally safe and well tolerated, and resulted in potent HBV DNA and RNA suppression. However, 48-week linvencorvir plus NUC with or without Peg-IFN did not result in the achievement of functional cure in any patient.

Vitamin D-Binding protein Gene Polymorphism Predicts Pegylated Interferon-Related HBsAg Seroclearance in HBeAg-Negative Thai Chronic Hepatitis B Patients: A Multicentre Study

Background: Vitamin D deficiency is related to poor clinical outcomes in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Methods: We aimed to investigate the association between the genetic variants in the vitamin D metabolic pathway and the response to pegylated interferon (Peg-IFN) therapy in patients with HBeAg-negative chronic HBV infection. One hundred seven patients treated with Peg-IFN for 48 weeks were selected from 13 specialty hospitals. Eight genotypes of vitamin D cascade genes, including CYP27B1 (rs10877012), DHCR7 (rs12785878), CYP2R1 (rs2060793, rs12794714) and GC (rs4588, rs7041, rs222020, rs2282679), were found. Results: Eighty-two patients (83.7%) were infected with HBV genotype C. Eight patients had compensated liver cirrhosis (8.7%). At 24 weeks after treatment discontinuation, 41 patients (42.3%) achieved sustained treatment response, 53 (55.2%) obtained HBV DNA<2,000 IU/ml, 6 (5.6%) gained HBsAg seroclearance, 2 (1.9%) had HBsAg seroconversion and 69 (64.5%) exhibited alanine aminotransferase (ALT) normalization. Multivariate analysis revealed that baseline HBsAg level (OR =0.06, 95% CI: 0.08-0.49, p=0.008) and the GC rs222020 TT genotype (OR=17.72, 95% CI: 1.07-294.38, p=0.04) independently predicted sustained HBsAg seroclearance. In addition, this genotype was a predictor for normalization of ALT (OR=4.61, 95%CI: 1.59-13.40, p=0.005) after therapy. The HBsAg levels at baseline and during and post-treatment tended to be reduced with the GC rs222020 TT compared with the non-TT genotypes. The other studied polymorphisms were not associated with treatment response. Conclusions: The GC rs222020 TT genotype, which is a variant in the vitamin D-binding protein gene, could identify HBeAg-negative patients who have a high probability to achieve HBsAg clearance and ALT normalization after treatment with Peg-IFN.

Genetic variation in the vitamin D pathway CYP2R1 gene predicts sustained HBeAg seroconversion in chronic hepatitis B patients treated with pegylated interferon: A multicenter study.

Evidence of a role of vitamin D in the immune system is increasing. Low serum vitamin D is associated with increased hepatitis B virus replication. Genome-wide association study (GWAS) data has revealed a number of the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the vitamin D synthetic pathway that affect vitamin D functions. We aimed to determine the association between SNPs in the vitamin D gene cascade and response to pegylated interferon (PegIFN) therapy in hepatitis B e-antigen (HBeAg)-positive patients. One hundred and eleven patients treated for 48 weeks with PegIFN-alfa 2a at 13 hospitals were retrospectively evaluated. Thirteen SNPs derived from vitamin D cascade-related genes, including DHCR7 (rs12785878), CYP27B1 (rs10877012), CYP2R1 (rs2060793, rs12794714), GC (rs4588, rs7041, rs222020, rs2282679), and VDR (FokI, BsmI, Tru9I, ApaI, TaqI), were genotyped. Thirty-one patients (27.9%) seroconverted to HBeAg after 24 weeks of treatment. Multivariate analysis found pretreatment qHBsAg <10,000 IU/mL (OR = 7.73, 95% CI: 2.36-25.31, P = 0.001), CYP2R1 rs12794714 TT genotype (OR = 4.16, 95% CI: 1.07-16.25, P = 0.04), and baseline ALT >2 times the upper limit of normal (OR = 3.83, 95% CI: 1.31-11.22, P = 0.014) predicted sustained HBeAg seroconversion after completion of PegIFN treatment. HBV DNA during study period tended to be lower with the rs12794714 CYP2R1 TT than the non-TT genotype. The rs12794714 CYP2R1 polymorphism may be a useful pretreatment factor predictive of sustained HBeAg seroconversion after PegIFN therapy. This study provides evidence that not only vitamin D level but also genetic variation of CYP2R1 in the vitamin D cascade influences host immune response in chronic HBV infection.