IL-2/IL-6 ratio correlates with liver function and recovery in acute liver injury patients

Acute liver injury can result from a number of different diseases. Inflammatory cytokines are known to be involved in the development of this condition; however, their precise roles and effects on liver function remain unclear. The goal of this study was to determine the relationship between serum cytokine levels and both the severity of liver damage and recovery in acute liver injury. We enrolled 100 patients with acute liver injury caused by drug application who were hospitalized from September 2012 to September 2017 and measured serum levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and the cytokines, interleukin (IL)-2 and IL-6, before and after clinical therapy. Our results indicate that IL-2 and IL-6 levels are altered significantly following clinical therapy. However, with the exception of an association between IL-2 and ALT, we found no correlation between the differences in cytokine levels pre- and post-therapy and recovery of liver function. In contrast, we observed that pre- vs post-treatment difference in the IL-2/IL-6 ratio negatively correlates with the pre- vs post-treatment difference in ALT and AST values, and positively correlates with ALT and AST at 1-month post-discharge. Thus, our data suggest that IL-2/IL-6 ratio may represent a novel predictor for the prognosis of liver injury.