Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is one of the major global causes of death. Different types of gene are involved as Ankyrin repeat domains of RNASE L gene. It performs a significant role in antiviral response, regulated by interferon, and involved in cleavage of RNA. Therefore, aim of this study was to identify Ankyrin repeat domain expression in Hepatitis C positive patients and correlate it with viral load of Hepatitis C.
Methods: In this study, a total of 80 HCV positive patient’s whole blood samples were investigated. RNA was extracted from plasma followed by Real Time PCR for quantization of HCV viral load and genotypic analyses. DNA was also extracted from these samples followed by PCR amplification of Ankyrin repeat domain of RNASE L gene. Data was analyzed using SPSS
Results: All of the patients (n=80) included in study had HCV infection. Mean age of patients was 50.86 ±14.84 years. Among them, 48(63.8%) were males and 32 (36.1%) were females. Majority of patients were males and belonged to age group 58-73 years age. All HCV infected individuals 36 (45%) had HCV genotype 3 and had viral loads mean range 837404.21 ±1302. Therefore, Ankyrin repeats domain of RNASE L gene expression was high in HCV patients sample with viral load of 17.00±15.1.
Conclusion: Ankyrin repeat domain expression was observed in Hepatitis C patients and its significant correlation with viral load of Hepatitis C. Ankyrin repeat domain of RNASE L gene in conjunction with therapeutic intervention are required for establishing better strategies for controlling HCV infection.
Crystal structure of the N-terminal ankyrin repeat domain of human RNase L