MxA as biomarker for the activity of interferon-alpha in patients with chronic hepatitis: Measurement by flow cytometry

Background: The antiviral protein MxA is induced in leukocytes by type-I-interferons. An increased expression of MxA has been shown by means of PCR in patients with chronic hepatitis undergoing interferon-alpha therapy. Additionally, it has been demonstrated that the clinical response to interferon-alpha is correlated to the basal expression of MxA. Therefore, MxA has been proposed to serve as a marker for the bioactivity of interferon-alpha. We investigated the utility of flow cytometry (FACS) to measure the expression of MxA in different leukocyte cell types in patients with chronic hepatitis. Methods: The exp…