Ding Shi-xiong, Ma Jian-bo, Hu Yao-ren, Hu Ai-rong, Shen Qiang, Gao Guo-shen
Department of Laboratory Medicine, The Affiliated Ningbo No. 2 Hospital, College of Medicine, Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China (mainland).
Institute of Liver Disease, The Affiliated Ningbo No. 2 Hospital, College of Medicine, Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China (mainland).
Med Sci Monit. 2016 Apr 26;22:1398-402. doi: 10.12659/msm.895971.
BACKGROUND Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection leads to life-threatening complications worldwide. Immunomodulation signals the response to virus clearance. The immune-suppressive molecule human leukocyte antigen-G (HLA-G) has been shown to function in inhibiting both innate and adaptive immune responses. The objective of this study was to investigate the expression of HLA-G and IL-37 in sustained virological response (SVR) and non-SVR HCV-positive patients before and after complete treatment with a combination of pegylated interferon (IFN) and ribavirin (RBV). MATERIAL AND METHODS Our study included 132 chronic hepatitis C patents who received combined therapy with IFN-a and RBV. Both SVR and non-SVR patients were included. The end-of-treatment response was defined as undetectable HCV RNA at week 48. Patients with end-of-treatment response were detected by HCV RNA at 24 weeks after therapy. The expression levels of HLA-G and IL-37 at the end and 24 weeks after treatment were detected by ELISA. RESULTS Plasma HLA-G and IL-37 were significantly increased in HCV-infected patients compared with healthy individuals before treatment. Furthermore, HLA-G in SVR patients was noticeably decreased after treatment, while HLA-G in non-SVR patients had no changes after treatment. Additionally, both in SVR and non-SVR patients, the expression of IL-37 was remarkably reduced compared with baseline after treatment. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that elevation of HLA-G and IL-37 in HCV may play an important role in response to combined therapy with IFN-a and RBV. Monitoring the expression of HLA-G during therapy could contribute to adjusting the treatment program of HCV-infected patients.
背景 慢性丙型肝炎病毒（HCV）感染在全球范围内会导致危及生命的并发症。免疫调节标志着对病毒清除的反应。免疫抑制分子人类白细胞抗原-G（HLA-G）已被证明在抑制先天性和适应性免疫反应中发挥作用。本研究的目的是调查聚乙二醇干扰素（IFN）和利巴韦林（RBV）联合完全治疗前后，持续病毒学应答（SVR）和非SVR HCV阳性患者中HLA-G和IL-37的表达情况。材料与方法 我们的研究纳入了132例接受IFN-α和RBV联合治疗的慢性丙型肝炎患者。包括SVR和非SVR患者。治疗结束时的应答定义为第48周时检测不到HCV RNA。治疗结束时有应答的患者在治疗后24周通过HCV RNA进行检测。治疗结束时及治疗后24周时，通过酶联免疫吸附测定（ELISA）检测HLA-G和IL-37的表达水平。结果 与治疗前的健康个体相比，HCV感染患者的血浆HLA-G和IL-37显著升高。此外，SVR患者治疗后HLA-G明显降低，而非SVR患者治疗后HLA-G无变化。另外，在SVR和非SVR患者中，治疗后IL-37的表达与基线相比均显著降低。结论 这些发现表明，HCV中HLA-G和IL-37的升高可能在对IFN-α和RBV联合治疗的反应中起重要作用。治疗期间监测HLA-G的表达可能有助于调整HCV感染患者的治疗方案。
