[Changes in the activity of the natural killers under the influence of genetically engineered alpha 2-interferon in patients with viral hepatitis B].

The functional activity of natural killer cells (NKC) in 90 patients with acute viral hepatitis B was studied. As a result, the importance of this characteristic as a criterion of effectiveness of alpha 2-interferon obtained by gene engineering techniques was shown. The study revealed the presence of inverse relationship between the level of the functional activity of NKC and the severity of acute viral hepatitis B at the peak of the disease. The character of the influence of alpha 2-interferon on the cytotoxicity of NKC depended on the time of the use of the preparation. Administration of reaferon till day 7 of jaundice promoted a significant increase of the initially low activity of NKC in comparison with that in patients receiving common therapy. This was accompanied by rapid changes of the clinical signs of the disease and accelerated elimination of the virus from the blood. When the preparation was administered after day 6 of jaundice the activity of NKC increased slowly and only at the period of convalescence. These results recommend measurements of NKC activity as a criterion for the evaluation of the effectiveness of alpha 2-interferon.