Trial reportHepatology (Baltimore, Md.)2014
Ribavirin improves the IFN-γ response of natural killer cells to IFN-based therapy of hepatitis C virus infection.
Trial report in Hepatology (Baltimore, Md.), 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 32 citations in OpenAlex.
- Achieving sustained virologic response after interferon-free hepatitis C virus treatment correlates with hepatic interferon gene expression changes independent of cirrhosis.Journal of viral hepatitis · 2016Trial
- Trial
- The Type I Interferon Axis in Systemic Autoimmune Diseases: From Molecular Pathways to Targeted Therapy.Biomolecules · 2025Review
- Identification of PEDV inhibitors targeting 3CL protease.Virologica Sinica · 2025Article
- Cytokine profiles dynamics in COVID-19 patients: a longitudinal analysis of disease severity and outcomes.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Article
- Controversies' clarification regarding ribavirin efficacy in measles and coronaviruses: Comprehensive therapeutic approach strictly tailored to COVID-19 disease stages.World journal of clinical cases · 2021Article
- Review
- Immunomodulation of the Natural Killer Cell Phenotype and Response during HCV Infection.Journal of clinical medicine · 2020Review
- Model of the adaptive immune response system against HCV infection reveals potential immunomodulatory agents for combination therapy.Scientific reports · 2018Article
- The Dual Nature of Type I and Type II Interferons.Frontiers in immunology · 2018Review
- Natural Killer Cells: Development, Maturation, and Clinical Utilization.Frontiers in immunology · 2018Review
- Article
- Ribavirin revisited in the era of direct-acting antiviral therapy for hepatitis C virus infection.Liver international : official journal of the International Association for the Study of the Liver · 2017Review
- Pharmacologic Considerations in the Treatment of Hepatitis C Virus in Persons With HIV.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2016Review
- Roles of natural killer cells in antiviral immunity.Current opinion in virology · 2016Review
- Mutation in the Hepatitis E Virus Polymerase and Outcome of Ribavirin Therapy.Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy · 2015Article
- Immunological aspects of antiviral therapy of chronic hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus infections.Hepatology (Baltimore, Md.) · 2015Review
- Expression profile and kinetics of cytokines and chemokines in patients with chronic hepatitis C.International journal of clinical and experimental medicine · 2015Article
- Type I Interferon Elevates Co-Regulatory Receptor Expression on CMV- and EBV-Specific CD8 T Cells in Chronic Hepatitis C.Frontiers in immunology · 2015Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
unlabelledRibavirin (RBV) is an important component of interferon (IFN)-based and direct antiviral treatment regimens for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Immunomodulation, in particular improvement of the host IFN response, has been proposed as RBV's mechanism of action. Natural killer (NK) cells are sensitive biomarkers for IFN-α/β receptor signaling, as NK cell cytotoxicity and IFN-γ production are regulated by signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT)1- and STAT4-phosphorylation, respectively. Specifically, pSTAT1-dependent NK cell cytotoxicity increases and pSTAT4-dependent IFN-γ production decreases in response to endogenous, virus-induced IFN-α and during IFN-α-based therapy. To assess whether RBV has a direct effect on NK cells and/or improves the IFN-γ response of NK cells in the presence of IFN-α, we prospectively studied 22 HCV patients with and 32 patients without 4 weeks of RBV pretreatment, who all received subsequent pegylated (Peg)IFN/ribavirin combination therapy. During RBV pretreatment, both the frequency of CD56(dim) NK cells with cytotoxic effector functions and the frequency of CD56(bright) NK cells with the capacity to produce IFN-γ decreased (P = 0.049 and P = 0.001, respectively). In vitro or in vivo exposure of NK cells to RBV improved the pSTAT4 (P < 0.01) but not pSTAT1 response of NK cells to subsequent stimulation with IFN-α. This was associated with an increase in IFN-γ production but not cytotoxicity of NK cells during subsequent IFN-α-based therapy. The frequency of IFN-γ-producing NK cells was greater in fast second-phase virological responders than in slow responders.
conclusionRBV enhances the pSTAT4 and IFN-γ response of NK cells to IFN-α-stimulation.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.