Influence of Serum HBV-DNA Content on the Expression of TGF-β1 and TNF-α in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis B

Objective To study the relationship between the serum HBV-DNA content and levels of tranforming growth factorβ1(TGF-β1), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) as well as the degree of hepatic fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B. Methods Serum HBV-DNA content quantificatoin was determined with PCR-real time fluorescence method; TGF-β1 and TNF-α with ELISA and the hepatic fibrosis indicators HA, LN, Ⅳ-C, P-Ⅲ with RIA. Altogether 89 patients with clinical chronic hepatitis B of various degrees (mild 25, moderate 35, advanced 29) were tested. Results With the progress of hepatic injury, the serum contents of HBV-DNA, TGF-β1, TNF-α were correspondingly increased with significant differences among the patients groups ( p 0 01). The TGF-β1, TNF-α, HA, Ⅳ-C, PCⅢ, levels were positively correlated to the degree of hepatic injury with r =0 9561, 0 8123, 0 8561, 0 7723, 0 7150 respectively and p 0 01; for LN it was r=0 542 and p 0 05. Conclusion In patients with chronic hepatitis B, hepartic fibrosis is the fundamental process in the pathogenesis of liver cirrhosis. High concentration of HBV is the crucial factor for development of hepatic fibrosis, which works synergically with many cytokuins especially TGF-β1 and TNF-α.