Soluble CD14 levels are increased and inversely correlated with the levels of hepatitis B surface antigen in chronic hepatitis B patients

✍ Scribed by Sophia Steyaert; Peter Vanlandschoot; Hans Van Vlierberghe; Helmut Diepolder; Geert Leroux-Roels

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2003
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 219 KB
• Volume: 71
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0146-6615
• DOI: 10.1002/jmv.10469

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Because it was observed recently that yeast‐derived recombinant HBsAg interacts in a lipopolysaccharide binding protein‐dependent manner with CD14 expressed on human monocytes, we investigated whether HBsAg influences the serum levels of sCD14, lipopolysaccharide binding protein and C‐reactive protein in hepatitis B patients. Samples from acute and chronic hepatitis B and chronic hepatitis C patients were tested. All analytes were measured using commercial assays. HBsAg was quantified using an NIBSC titrated standard. sCD14 levels were higher in chronic hepatitis B and C patients than in healthy controls (P = 0.0006 and P < 0.0001, respectively). In chronic hepatitis B patients an inverse correlation was found between sCD14 and HBsAg (P = 0.0309). Lipopolysaccharide binding protein and C‐reactive protein levels were higher in acute hepatitis B patients than in control subjects (P = 0.0217 and P = 0.0034, respectively). In chronic hepatitis B and C, sCD14 and C‐reactive protein levels were higher in cirrhotic than in non‐cirrhotic patients (P = 0.0072 and P = 0.0223, respectively). J. Med. Virol. 71:188–194, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.