Clinical observation of serum IL-18, IL-10 and sIL-2R levels in patients with chronic hepatitis C pre- and post antiviral treatment

To discuss the roles of serum interleukin-18 (IL-18), interleukin-10 (IL-10) and soluble interleukin-2R (sIL-2R) in the pathogenesis of chronic hepatitis C and to observe the effects of interferon (IFN) on the above- mentioned serum cytokines Methods The levels of above- mentioned cytokines were detected in 10 healthy individuals, 24 asymptomatic hepatitis virus C (HCV) carriers and 27 patients with chronic hepatitis C ( before and after IFN treatment) using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) Results The levels of the cytokines in patients with chronic hepatitis C are higher than in healthy people (P<0 05) and in asymptomatic HCV carriers(P<0 05) The values of the cytokines show a significant positive correlation to ALT (P<0 05) Levels of tested cytokines decreased observably after IFN treatment (P<0 05) The grades of the serum levels for sIL-2R and IL-10 before IFN treatment (from high to low) were categorized accordingly: non-response group> partial- response group >complete- response group (P<0 05) Conclusions The tested cytokines co-participate in the pathogenesis of chronic hepatitis C, and can be used to evaluate the effect of IFN on the immune state of organisms Furthermore, sIL-2R and IL-10 are important for predicting the anti-viral efficacy of IFN