AI Article Synopsis
- The study investigates the immune response of chronic hepatitis C patients by measuring specific cytokine levels in their peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) before treatment.
- The research found elevated levels of IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha, and IL-10 in these patients compared to healthy controls, while IL-2, IL-4, and IL-12 were undetectable.
- It suggests that the immune response in these patients leans towards Th2 type cytokines, indicating a potential path towards rebalancing Th1/Th2 responses to aid in clearing the virus.
Article Abstract
Objective: To study the immune state of patients with chronic hepatitis C before antiviral therapy by detecting the levels of the cytokines interleukin (IL)-2, IL-4, IL-10, IL-12, interferon (IFN)-gamma, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha secretion by periferal blood mononuclear cells (PBMC).
Methods: The level of the cytokine secreted by PBMC in patients with chronic hepatitis C after culturing for 72 hours in vitro was detected by ELISA.
Results: (1) Compared with the cytokine level of normal controls, the level of IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha, and IL-10 of patients with chronic hepatitis C significantly increased (P < 0.05) while IL-2, IL-4, and IL-12 were not detected in the culture supernatant of PBMC from both normal control and patients with chronic hepatitis C. (2) There was no statistically significant difference in secretion of the cytokines among patients with different severity of the disease.
Conclusion: PMBCs from patients with chronic hepatitis C tend to secret Th2 type cytokines. Restoring the imbalance of TH1/TH2 may help to clear the hepatitis C virus.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!