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Annals of Clinical & Laboratory Science 36:144-150 (2006)
© 2006 Association of Clinical Scientists

Cytokine Patterns Correlate with Liver Damage in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis B and C

Katia Falasca1,2, Claudio Ucciferri1, Margherita Dalessandro1,2, Pompea Zingariello1,2, Paola Mancino1, Claudia Petrarca3, Eligio Pizzigallo1,2, Pio Conti3 and Jacopo Vecchiet1,2
1 Clinic of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine and Aging, 2 Centre of Excellence on Aging, and 3 Department of Oncology and Neuroscience, University "G. d’Annunzio," Chieti-Pescara, Italy

Address correspondence to Prof. Jacopo Vecchiet, Dept. of Medicine and Aging, Clinic of Infectious Diseases, University "G. D’Annunzio" School of Medicine, Via dei Vestini, 66100 Chieti, Italy; tel 39 0871 358 684; fax 39 0871 358 595; e-mail jvecchiet{at}unich.it.

T-cell immunoregulatory cytokines influence the persistence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) chronic infection and the extent of liver damage. Th1 cytokines positively correlate with hepatic inflammation in chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. The pro-inflammatory, cytokines IL-6 and IL-18, are involved in viral clearance and in metabolic and viral hepatic diseases, respectively. The aim of this study was to evaluate the profile of Th1/Th2 cytokines in HCV and HBV hepatitis. HBV-infected patients showed higher plasma IFN-{gamma} levels than the HCV+ patients or the control group (p <0.0001). Plasma TNF-{alpha} and IL-2 were higher in HBV+ in comparison to HCV+ patients (p <0.001) or the control group (p <0.005). Plasma IL-6 and IL-18 were higher in both groups of patients compared to the control group (p <0.04). In HCV+ and HBV+ groups, IL-6 was positively correlated with the duration of the illness (p <0.01 and <0.001, respectively) and viral load (p <0.001 and <0.001, respectively), while IL-18 was positively correlated with serum ALT activity (p <0.01 and <0.001, respectively) and serum AST activity (p <0.01 and <0.001, respectively). We found that in HCV+ and HBV+ patients there are higher levels of Th1 cytokines, particularly in the course of chronic hepatitis B, and that IL-18 and IL-6 levels may have important roles as markers of both inflammation and hepatic injury, particularly in the course of hepatitis C.

Keywords: HBV, HCV, cytokines, IL-6, IL-18, Th1/Th2, hepatitis




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