Circulating ICAM-1 (sCD54) and LFA-3 (sCD58) in chronic hepatitis B--a longitudinal study in patients treated with interferon-alpha.

The intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1, CD54) and the lymphocyte associated antigen 3 (LFA-3, CD58) have been found in soluble form (sCD54 and sCD58) in human sera. Data concerning their role in chronic liver disease and their usefulness in disease monitoring are contradictory. We addressed the question whether elevated sCD54/sCD58 correlated either with disease activity or with decreased elimination secondary to reduced liver function in chronic hepatitis B. We studied 31 patients with chronic hepatitis B undergoing interferon alpha therapy in a longitudinal fashion. Serum concentrations of sCD54 and sCD58 were measured at four weeks interval by specific Sandwich ELISA during a follow-up period of ten months. The maximal difference in concentration of each biochemical parameter, e.g., delta AST, delta gGt, delta bilirubin, was determined for each patient during the whole follow-up period. These differences were correlated with the variation in sCD54 (delta sCD54) and sCD58 (delta sCD58) at the respective time points. Using this method, we were able to eliminate interindividual differences in serum concentrations for sCD54 and sCD58 and to avoid bias due to preselection of patients. We found that delta sCD54 correlated with delta AST (p = 0.001) and delta ALT (p = 0.002), whereas there was no such correlation for delta sCD58. Interferon therapy did not affect sCD54 or sCD58 levels. Neither hepatitis B viremia nor the immune response to hepatitis B during the time of seroconversion to anti-HBe did significantly increase sCD54 or sCD58 levels. However, delta sCD54 was associated with delta gamma GT (p = 0.005) and delta sCD58 correlated with delta bilirubin (p = 0.037); a negative correlation was found for delta sCD54 with delta cholinesterase (p = 0.007). Our findings imply that sCD54 and sCD58 may be associated with a decrease in liver function that accompanies hepatic disease activity. sCD54 and sCD58 did not prove useful to monitor disease activity or response to interferon therapy in chronic hepatitis B. From our data we conclude, that decreased elimination of soluble adhesion molecules sCD54 and sCD58 in advanced liver disease may be responsible for increased serum concentrations detected.