Programa de Pós-Graduação em Imunologia, Instituto de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, BA, Brazil.
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Farmácia, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, BA, Brazil.
Int Immunopharmacol. 2021 Apr;93:107405. doi: 10.1016/j.intimp.2021.107405. Epub 2021 Jan 30.
Few studies on the immunoglobulin E (IgE) immune response in chronic hepatitis C have been reported. In this study, we tested the antigenicity of commercial recombinant hepatitis C virus (HCV) core and nonstructural protein NS3, NS4, and NS5 antigens and the IgE immune response to these antigens in chronic hepatitis C patients before and after antiviral treatment with pegylated interferon (IFN)-α plus ribavirin for 12 weeks. The effects of antiviral treatment were investigated in 20 out of 35 participants. We developed amplified immunoassays using these antigens and IgG-depleted patient sera. Seropositivity for IgE antibodies was determined, and serum IgE and cytokine levels were measured. Anti-core, anti-NS3, and anti-NS4 IgE antibodies were observed in most patients, whereas anti-NS5 antibodies were less prevalent. Antiviral treatment decreased the production of anti-core, anti-NS3, and anti-NS4 IgE antibodies, but not anti-NS5 IgE antibodies. A significant decrease in the anti-NS3 and anti-NS4 IgE antibody levels was observed in patients who presented with an early sustained virological response, but no effects on anti-core and anti-NS5 IgE antibodies was observed. The serum levels of IFN-γ, interleukin (IL)-2, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor-α, and IL-10, but not IL-4, were similar between patients before and after antiviral therapy. Thus, the immune response of IgE antibodies to HCV antigens was comparable to that of anti-HCV IgG antibodies. The usefulness of anti-NS3 IgE antibodies in diagnosing occult hepatitis C and monitoring antiviral treatment with directly acting antiviral medication must be investigated in future studies.
目前鲜有关于慢性丙型肝炎患者免疫球蛋白 E（IgE）免疫应答的研究。本研究检测了商业重组丙型肝炎病毒（HCV）核心和非结构蛋白 NS3、NS4 和 NS5 抗原的抗原性，以及在聚乙二醇干扰素（IFN）-α联合利巴韦林治疗 12 周前后慢性丙型肝炎患者对这些抗原的 IgE 免疫应答。在 35 名参与者中，有 20 名进行了抗病毒治疗效果的研究。我们使用这些抗原和 IgG 耗尽的患者血清开发了扩增免疫测定法。检测 IgE 抗体的血清阳性率，并测量血清 IgE 和细胞因子水平。大多数患者观察到抗核心、抗 NS3 和抗 NS4 IgE 抗体，而抗 NS5 抗体则较少见。抗病毒治疗降低了抗核心、抗 NS3 和抗 NS4 IgE 抗体的产生，但不降低抗 NS5 IgE 抗体。在早期持续病毒学应答的患者中，观察到抗 NS3 和抗 NS4 IgE 抗体水平显著降低，但对抗核心和抗 NS5 IgE 抗体没有影响。IFN-γ、白细胞介素（IL）-2、IL-6、肿瘤坏死因子-α和 IL-10 的血清水平在抗病毒治疗前后的患者中相似，但 IL-4 没有变化。因此，IgE 抗体对 HCV 抗原的免疫应答与抗 HCV IgG 抗体相似。在未来的研究中，必须调查抗 NS3 IgE 抗体在诊断隐匿性丙型肝炎和监测直接作用抗病毒药物的抗病毒治疗中的作用。
