Circulating chemokine levels and receptor polymorphisms have potential as biomarkers for fibrosis stages in patients with chronic hepatitis C infection.

Background: Chemokines and their receptors, which regulate lymphoid organ development and immune cell trafficking, are integral to the mechanisms underlying viral control, hepatic inflammation, and liver damage in chronic hepatitis C (CHC) infection. This study explores the potential relationship between serum chemokine levels/polymorphisms and hepatitis C infection in affected individuals, with a particular focus on their utility as biomarkers across different stages of fibrosis.

Methods And Results: Serum levels of the chemokines CXCL11, CXCL12, and CXCL16 were measured in patients with mild/moderate and advanced fibrosis due to CHC, as well as in healthy controls, using the ELISA method.