Serum cytokine levels in patients with chronic hepatitis B according to lamivudine therapy

✍ Scribed by Younhee Park; Yongjung Park; Kwang-Hyub Han; Hyon-Suk Kim

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2011
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 128 KB
• Volume: 25
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0887-8013
• DOI: 10.1002/jcla.20495

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Background: Cytokines are known to play critical roles in the pathogenesis of chronic hepatitis B (CHB). However, the relationship between cytokines and treatment responses to drugs for CHB is not clearly defined yet. We measured the serum cytokine levels of interleukin (IL)‐1α, IL‐1β, IL‐2, IL‐4, IL‐6, IL‐8, IL‐10, vascular endothelial growth factor, interferon‐γ, tumor necrosis factor‐ (TNF‐α), macrophage/monocyte chemotactic protein 1, and epidermal growth factor to elucidate the cytokine expression pattern according to the patients' responses to lamivudine. Methods: Fifty‐eight specimens from 27 CHB patients and 98 specimens from healthy individuals were tested for 12 kinds of cytokines. The patients were grouped as: before treatment, ongoing treatment, duringmaintaining remission, and patients with viral breakthrough owing to resistance against lamivudine. The Evidence Investigator (Randox, Antrim, UK), a protein chip analyzer, was used to quantify serum cytokines. Results: Among 12 cytokines, IL‐6, IL‐8, IL‐10, and TNF‐α were significantly elevated in patients with resistance against lamivudine compared with patients maintaining response. IL‐8, IL‐10, and TNF‐α levels also weak to moderate correlated with ALT and HBV‐DNA concentrations. Conclusions: Serum cytokine levels would reflect the pathological differences of the individual treatment phases and may become useful indices in monitoring the treatment response of CHB. J. Clin. Lab. Anal. 25:414–421, 2011. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.