Study on the changes of serum cytokines in patients with chronic hepatitis C before and after IFN treatment

Objective:To observe the changes of serum levels of IL-18,IL-10 and TNF-αin the patients with chronic hepatitis C before and after IFN treatment and to discuss the roles of the above- mentioned serum cytokines in the pathogenisis of chronic hepatitis C.Methods:To detect the levels of IL-18,IL-10 and TNF-α in 15 healthy controls, 30 asymptomatic HCV carriers and 30 patients with chronic hepatitis C ( before and after IFN treatment )by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).Results:The levels of IL-18,IL-10 and TNF-α in the patients with chronic hepatitis C were higher than those in healthy controls(P0.05) and in asymptomatic HCV carriers(P0.05).The valus of the above-mentioned cytokines showed a significant positive correlation to GPT.The levels of above-mentioned cytokines decreased obviously after IFN treatment(P0.05),while the serum levels of IL-10 reduced in sequence in no-response group,partial-response group and complete-response group.Conclusion:IL-18,IL-10 and TNF-αco-participate in the pathogenisis of chronic hepatitis C,and are probably used to evaluate the effect of IFN on the immunical state of patients,and IL-10 is important for predicting the anti-viral efficacy of IFN.