The current study investigated the relationship between pretreatment COX-2 and TGF-β1 hepatic expression in HCV genotype 4 and the virological response to interferon therapy.
COX-2 is induced in hepatocytes after partial hepatectomy (PH), in animal models of cirrhosis, in human hepatoma cell lines, in human HCC and after HBV and HCV infection.
Taken together, these results demonstrated a differential response by HCV 3a genotype in HCV-induced pathogenesis, which may be due to Core and host factor Cox-2 individually or in combination.