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Evaluation of Interleukin-10 Levels in Patients Diagnosed with Chronic Hepatitis
M Özgüler1, H H Akbulut2, A Akbulut3
1Elazig Educational and Research Hospital, Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology Department, Postal Code 23100, Elazig, Turkey. mugeozguler@gmail.com.
Insights
Interleukin-10 (IL-10) levels are significantly higher in patients with chronic hepatitis B, correlating with increased viral load. This suggests IL-10 may be a marker for disease progression and treatment response.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Hepatology
- Virology
Background:
- Cytokine release is crucial in chronic hepatitis B pathogenesis.
- Interleukin-10 (IL-10) is an anti-inflammatory cytokine.
- Understanding IL-10's role is vital for managing chronic hepatitis B.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate serum Interleukin-10 (IL-10) levels in patients with chronic hepatitis B.
- To compare IL-10 levels between chronic hepatitis B patients and healthy controls.
- To explore the correlation between IL-10 levels and hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA levels.
Main Methods:
- Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to measure serum IL-10 levels.
- Sixty-three treatment-naive chronic hepatitis B patients were included.
- A control group of 25 healthy individuals was used for comparison.
Main Results:
- IL-10 levels were significantly higher in chronic hepatitis B patients compared to controls (p < 0.05).
- Elevated IL-10 levels were observed in patients with HBV DNA levels between 2000-20,000 IU/mL and >20,000 IU/mL.
- IL-10 levels increased with increasing HBV DNA levels in patients.
Conclusions:
- IL-10 levels may play a significant role in chronic hepatitis B disease progression.
- Reducing IL-10 levels could be beneficial for treatment.
- IL-10 may serve as a marker for hepatitis B 'e' antigen (HBeAg) seroconversion and treatment response evaluation.
Objective:
One of the most important factors playing a role in chronic hepatitis B pathogenesis is cytokine release and one of the cytokines with anti-inflammatory characteristic is interleukin-10 (IL-10). The aim of the present study is to examine IL-10 levels in patients with chronic hepatitis B.
Subjects And Methods:
Sixty-three patients with chronic hepatitis B disease who had not received any antiviral treatment were included in the study. Serum IL-10 level was investigated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. In the control group, 25 healthy individuals with mean age similar to the patient population were included. Control and patient groups were compared and data were statistically analysed.
Results:
Interleukin-10 levels of 25 patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA levels between 2000 and 20 000 IU/mL were compared with those of 25 subjects in the control group, and the level in the chronic hepatitis B group was statistically significantly higher (p < 0.05). Interleukin-10 levels of 38 patients with HBV DNA > 20 000 IU/mL were statistically significantly higher than those in the control group. When chronic hepatitis B patients were compared among themselves, IL-10 levels increased as HBV DNA levels increased. Also, when IL-10 levels of hepatitis B 'e' antigen (HBeAg) positive patients were compared with those of HBeAg negative patients, the difference was not statistically significant.
Conclusion:
It is believed that decreasing IL-10 levels by various methods would have significant contributions in disease progression and treatment. Moreover, IL-10 level may be an important marker in HBeAg seroconversion and evaluation of treatment response.
