Assessment of ubiquitin specific Peptidase-18 gene in peripheral blood of chronic hepatitis C patients treated with direct-acting antiviral drugs

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection remains one of the leading causes of liver complications globally. Ubiquitin Specific Peptidase-18 (USP18) is a ubiquitin-specific protease that cleaves interferon-stimulated gene 15 (ISG15) from ISGylated protein complexes and is involved in regulating interferon responsiveness. To study the effect of direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) on the USP18 gene using qPCR, 132 participants were recruited and classified into different groups based on treatment duration. USP18 expression was raised compared to rapid virologic response (RVR) and early virologic response (EVR) groups with P = 0.0026 and P = 0.0016, respectively. USP18 was found to be 7.36 folds higher in naive patients than those with RVR and sustained viral response (SVR). In RVR and SVR groups where patients had cleared HCV RNA after treatment with direct-acting antiviral agents (DAA) therapy, the expression of USP18 was found to be low, with a fold change of 1.3 and 1.4 folds, respectively. Expression of USP18 was significantly higher in the non-RVR group than in the RVR group. In the No EVR group, gene expression was significantly higher than in the EVR group. It is concluded that targeting HCV proteins using DAAs can cause USP18 expression to be normalized more effectively. Moreover, USP18 is a vital marker indicating treatment resistance and distinguishing responders from non-responders during DAA therapy.