Association of MRC-1 and IL-28B with the treatment outcome of hepatitis C: a case control study.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate whether polymorphisms of the mannose receptor C type 1 (MRC-1) and interleukin 28B (IL-28B) genes are associated with the treatment outcome of patients infected with hepatitis C virus genotypes 1 and 2 (HCV-1 and HCV-2, respectively) who are treated with peginterferon plus ribavirin (PEG-IFNα-RBV). METHODS: We analyzed the association of the patients' sustained viral responses (SVRs) to PEG-IFNα-RBV therapy with 2 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in MRC-1 and 3 SNPs in IL-28B. We selected patients infected with either HCV-1 (n = 265) or HCV-2 (n = 195) with or without SVR. RESULTS: Among the MRC-1 SNPs, rs691005 was found to be associated with SVR in HCV-1-infected patients (P < 0.0001). The IL-28B rs8099917 SNP was found to be associated with SVR in HCV-1- and HCV-2-infected patients (HCV-1, P < 0.0001; HCV-2, P = 0.002), while IL-28B rs955155 and rs10853728 SNPs were found to be associated with SVR in HCV-1-infected patients (P = 0.003) and HCV-2-infected patients (P = 0.02), respectively. We also identified an interaction between MRC-1 rs691005 and IL-28B rs8099917 (P = 0.001). The C-T haplotype was shown to have a positive effect on SVR in HCV-1-infected patients (OR = 1.77, 95% CI = 1.2, 2.62), whereas the T-G haplotype was shown to have a negative effect on SVR in HCV-1-infected patients (OR = 0.28, 95% CI = 0.14, 0.58). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that SNPs of IL-28B and MRC-1 can be used as genetic markers for predicting the outcome of PEG-IFNα-RBV treatment of HCV infections.

Neuromuscular, retinal, and reproductive impact of low-dose polystyrene microplastics on Drosophila.

Facing the challenge of global microplastics (MPs) pollution, full characterization of MPs biohazards is urgent. Recent intensive studies revealed that the toxicity depends on the material, size, and exposure concentration of MP. To better elucidate MPs biohazards, we investigated the impact of polystyrene-MPs of size 0.1 µm at a low dose of 50 µg/L on the neuromuscular, retinal, and reproductive phenotypes of fruit fly model, by voltage-clamped electrophysiology, electroretinogram, and reproductive assay, respectively. We found that MPs decreased the frequency of spontaneous junction currents of synapse and altered the receptor potential amplitude of the retina. Furthermore, MPs lowered the rate of embryo-laying of fruit flies. The differential gene expression of ligand-receptor interaction, endocytosis, phototransduction, and Toll/Imd signaling pathways might underlie these MPs-induced phenotypes. These findings call for further investigation on the potential biohazards of low-dose MPs.