Jia Yanfang, Jiao Xiaolei, Shi Wenxia, Luo Ying, Xiang Huiling, Liang Jing, Gao Yingtang
The Third Central Clinical College of Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, 300170, China.
Tianjin Key Laboratory of Extracorporeal Life Support for Critical Diseases, Tianjin Institute of Hepatobiliary Disease, Nankai University Affiliated Third Center Hospital, Jintang Road 83#, Hedong District, Tianjin, 300170, China.
Infect Agent Cancer. 2024 May 1;19(1):20. doi: 10.1186/s13027-024-00580-9.
Cytokines/chemokines play essential roles in the occurrence and progression of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. This study aimed to observe the expression patterns of 10 related cytokines/chemokines in the serum of healthy individuals, self-limited patients and HBV-infected patients at different stages of disease (chronic hepatitis B (CHB), liver cirrhosis (LC), hepatocellular dysplastic nodules (DNs) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)) and to analyze the relationships of these cytokines/chemokines with disease progression.
The levels of six cytokines (FGF-2, IFN-α2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10 and VEGF-A) and four chemokines (GRO-α, IL-8, IP-10 and MCP-1) were quantified using Luminex multiplex technology.
There were no significant differences in the expression of the 10 cytokines/chemokines between healthy individuals and self-limited patients. The levels of IL-4, IL-6, and IL-8 increased significantly in the CHB and LC groups. IL-10 was highly expressed in the HCC group. The level of IP-10 was significantly greater in all liver disease groups (CHB, LC, DN and HCC) than in the HI and SL-HBV groups, while the level of GRO was significantly lower in all liver disease groups than in the HI and SL-HBV groups. The levels of the 10 cytokines/chemokines were not significantly different between the preoperative group and the two-day postoperative group. Significant increases in the levels of IL-4, VEGF-A and IL-8 and significant decreases in those of IL-10 and GRO-α were observed 3 months after surgery. Correlation analysis revealed that most of the cytokines/chemokines with significant correlation differences were positively correlated before and after HCC surgery.
Our results highlight the fluctuating status of specific cytokines in HBV infection-related disease progression. It is speculated that these cytokines may be used as serum markers to monitor dynamic changes during the progression of HBV-related liver disease and to predict patient prognosis.
细胞因子/趋化因子在乙型肝炎病毒（HBV）感染的发生和发展中起重要作用。本研究旨在观察10种相关细胞因子/趋化因子在健康个体、自限性患者以及处于不同疾病阶段（慢性乙型肝炎（CHB）、肝硬化（LC）、肝细胞发育异常结节（DNs）和肝细胞癌（HCC））的HBV感染患者血清中的表达模式，并分析这些细胞因子/趋化因子与疾病进展的关系。
采用Luminex多重技术对六种细胞因子（FGF-2、IFN-α2、IL-4、IL-6、IL-10和VEGF-A）和四种趋化因子（GRO-α、IL-8、IP-10和MCP-1）的水平进行定量。
健康个体和自限性患者之间10种细胞因子/趋化因子的表达无显著差异。CHB和LC组中IL-4、IL-6和IL-8水平显著升高。IL-10在HCC组中高表达。所有肝病组（CHB、LC、DN和HCC）中IP-10水平均显著高于健康个体（HI）和HBV自限性感染（SL-HBV）组，而所有肝病组中GRO水平均显著低于HI和SL-HBV组。术前组和术后两天组之间10种细胞因子/趋化因子的水平无显著差异。术后3个月观察到IL-4、VEGF-A和IL-8水平显著升高，IL-10和GRO-α水平显著降低。相关性分析显示，大多数具有显著相关性差异的细胞因子/趋化因子在HCC手术前后呈正相关。
我们的结果突出了特定细胞因子在HBV感染相关疾病进展中的波动状态。推测这些细胞因子可作为血清标志物，用于监测HBV相关肝病进展过程中的动态变化并预测患者预后。
