Table 3.
IFN-γ expression by in vitro activated T cell with respect to viral load, before and after treatment
| Percentage of positive cells | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before treatment | After treatment | |||
| HCV-RNA (copies × 103/ml) | Ribavirin + IFN-α | IFN-α | Ribavirin + IFN-α | IFN-α |
| < 0·2 | n.a. (n = 0) | n.a. (n = 0) | 24 ± 6 (n = 3) | n.a. (n = 0) |
| 0·2–100 | 36 ± 11 (n = 2) | 33 ± 8 (n = 1) | 19 ± 9 (n = 7) | 40 ± 16 (n = 3) |
| 100–500 | 39 ± 14 (n = 6) | 40 ± 15 (n = 4) | 22 ± 11 (n = 4) | 42 ± 7 (n = 3) |
| > 500 | 39 ± 9 (n = 8) | 31 ± 13 (n = 4) | 23 ± 5 (n = 2) | 44 ± 11 (n = 3) |
Note. Mitogen-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells were stained and analysed by FACS as described in Table 2. n.a., not applicable. Data are means ± SD