Shandong University, School of Medicine, Jinan, China.
Diagn Pathol. 2013 Feb 28;8:40. doi: 10.1186/1746-1596-8-40.
BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: As a proinflammatory cytokine, interleukin-17 (IL-17) contributes to the inflammation of many autoimmune diseases. We examined IL-17 levels in serum and tissues from patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection (HBV), and especially evaluated the role of IL-17 in the pathogenesis and progression of liver fibrosis.
Whole venous blood was obtained from four patient groups: chronic hepatitis B (CHB, n = 47), liver cirrhosis (LC, n = 49), primary hepatocellular carcinoma (PHC, n = 44), chronic liver failure (CLF, n = 33), and a normal control group (n = 20). HBsAg was positive in all patients. Liver biopsy samples were acquired from asymptomatic HBsAg carriers (ASC, n = 35), CHB (n = 57), and LC (n = 31) patients. We performed ELISA to measure IL-17 levels in serum samples, and used reverse RT-PCR to measure IL-17 mRNA levels in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). IL-17 protein expression was detected in liver biopsy tissues by immunohistochemistry.
Compared to normal controls, serum IL-17 protein and mRNA levels were significantly higher in the four infection groups. LC patients exhibited the highest serum IL-17 and PBMC mRNA levels. No significant differences were found between the other three groups. High levels of IL-17 were also observed in tissues from CHB and LC patients, compared to ASC. IL-17 expression was mainly located in the portal area and was positively correlated with inflammation grade and fibrosis stage.
IL-17 expression was found to be increased with increasing degrees of liver fibrosis. This suggests that IL-17 may not only induce the inflammation, but also contribute to disease progression and chronicity.
The virtual slide(s) for this article can be found here: http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/5306959258322482.
背景/目的：白细胞介素-17（IL-17）作为一种促炎细胞因子，参与了许多自身免疫性疾病的炎症反应。我们检测了慢性乙型肝炎病毒感染（HBV）患者血清和组织中的 IL-17 水平，并特别评估了 IL-17 在肝纤维化发病机制和进展中的作用。
从四组患者中采集全静脉血：慢性乙型肝炎（CHB，n=47）、肝硬化（LC，n=49）、原发性肝细胞癌（PHC，n=44）、慢性肝衰竭（CLF，n=33）和正常对照组（n=20）。所有患者 HBsAg 均为阳性。从无症状 HBsAg 携带者（ASC，n=35）、CHB（n=57）和 LC（n=31）患者中获取肝活检样本。我们通过 ELISA 测量血清样本中的 IL-17 水平，并通过逆转录 PCR 测量外周血单个核细胞（PBMC）中的 IL-17 mRNA 水平。通过免疫组织化学检测肝活检组织中 IL-17 蛋白的表达。
与正常对照组相比，四组感染患者的血清 IL-17 蛋白和 mRNA 水平均显著升高。LC 患者的血清 IL-17 和 PBMC mRNA 水平最高。其他三组之间没有显著差异。与 ASC 相比，CHB 和 LC 患者的组织中也观察到高水平的 IL-17。IL-17 表达主要位于门脉区，与炎症分级和纤维化分期呈正相关。
随着肝纤维化程度的增加，发现 IL-17 表达增加。这表明 IL-17 不仅可以诱导炎症，还可能导致疾病进展和慢性化。
