| Summary: | Objective: to estimate the time course of changes in the levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-4 (IL-4), IL-6, and the hepatic fibrosis indicators hyaluronic acid (HA) and liver elasticity index during combined antiviral therapy (AVT) with interferon alpha-2b and ribavirin in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC). Subjects and methods. Fifty patients with CHC were examined. Serum TNF-α, IL-6, IL-4, and HA were estimated using an enzyme immunoassay. The stage of hepatic fibrosis was determined by fibroelastography with the liver elastic index being measured; the time course of changes in the indicators was assessed in 20 patients at the end of AVT. A virological response was monitored at therapy completion and 6 months later. Results. The patients with CHC in the reactivation phase were found to have enhanced TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-4 activities in 84, 60, and 100 % of the cases, respectively (р < 0.001, р = 0.01, р < 0.001, respectively). The median serum concentration of HA in CHC was 1.8-fold higher than that in the control group (p = 0.03); the liver elastic index averaged 6.5 kPa. TNF-α and IL-6 levels correlated with viremia, transaminases, and hepatic fibrosis indicators. At combined AVT completion, the virological response rate was as high as 85 %, which was attended by a considerable reduction in cytolysis, HA concentrations, and liver density index to 5.4 kPa (3.6–6.8 kPa) (p < 0.04), and in the activity of the examined cytokines. The sustained virological response rate was 80 %. Only IL-4 levels decreased and TNF-α and IL-6 concentration remained at the baseline level in patients unresponsive to AVT. Conclusion. It is expedient to monitor TNF-α, IL-4, IL-6, and HA to evaluate the severity of liver involvement in CHC and to predict the efficiency of AVT.
|
|---|