Lukic Ruzica, Gajovic Nevena, Jovanovic Ivan, Jurisevic Milena, Mijailovic Zeljko, Maric Veljko, Popovska Jovicic Biljana, Arsenijevic Nebojsa
Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine Foca, University of East Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Center for Molecular Medicine and Stem Cell Research, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, Kragujevac, Serbia.
Dis Markers. 2017;2017:6275987. doi: 10.1155/2017/6275987. Epub 2017 Apr 11.
Hepatitis C virus infection (HCV), one of the greatest causes of liver disease, is a frequent complication in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) on dialysis. ESRD is defined as decreased glomerular filtration and also accompanied by impaired function of the immune system. Galectin-3 is a -galactoside-binding lectin, involved in various biological processes including pathogenesis of chronic renal disease. The aim of our study was to estimate disease severity in ESRD HCV patients and analyze the serum concentrations of IL-1, IL-4, IL-23, and IL-6; anti-HCV antibodies; and galectin-3. Also, we attempted to determine potential correlation between galectin-3 level and parameters of disease severity ALT and AST. Our results showed decreased levels of ALT and AST ( = 0.00), demonstrating less liver destruction in ESRD HCV patients in comparison to HCV patients. Increased levels of IL-6 ( = 0.03) implicate a hepatoprotective role of IL-6 in these patients. Also, level of galectin-3 ( = 0.00) in the serum of ESRD HCV patients was higher than that of HCV patients. This alteration was accompanied with negative correlation between galectin-3 and AST and ALT, respectively ( = 0.029; = 0.033). The presence of increased systemic levels of IL-6 and Gal-3 in ESRD HCV patients may be an attempt to counteract or limit ongoing proinflammatory processes and to downregulate chronic inflammation, suggesting the new aspects of HCV infection in ESRD patients.
丙型肝炎病毒感染（HCV）是肝病的主要病因之一，是终末期肾病（ESRD）透析患者常见的并发症。ESRD的定义为肾小球滤过率降低，同时伴有免疫系统功能受损。半乳糖凝集素-3是一种β-半乳糖苷结合凝集素，参与包括慢性肾病发病机制在内的各种生物学过程。我们研究的目的是评估ESRD HCV患者的疾病严重程度，并分析白细胞介素-1、白细胞介素-4、白细胞介素-23和白细胞介素-6的血清浓度；抗HCV抗体；以及半乳糖凝集素-3。此外，我们试图确定半乳糖凝集素-3水平与疾病严重程度参数谷丙转氨酶（ALT）和谷草转氨酶（AST）之间的潜在相关性。我们的结果显示ALT和AST水平降低（P = 0.00），表明与HCV患者相比，ESRD HCV患者的肝脏破坏较少。白细胞介素-6水平升高（P = 0.03）表明白细胞介素-6在这些患者中具有肝脏保护作用。此外，ESRD HCV患者血清中的半乳糖凝集素-3水平（P = 0.00）高于HCV患者。这种变化分别伴随着半乳糖凝集素-3与AST和ALT之间的负相关（P = 0.029；P = 0.033）。ESRD HCV患者全身白细胞介素-6和半乳糖凝集素-3水平升高可能是为了对抗或限制正在进行的促炎过程，并下调慢性炎症，这提示了ESRD患者HCV感染的新方面。
