Circulating IL-1β, IL-17, and IP-10 as Potential Predictors of Hepatitis B Virus Infection Prognosis
Zhenzhen Su, Jie Chen, Junlong Zhang, Yunfei An, Yun Liao, Xiaojuan Wu, Chuanmin Tao, Lanlan Wang, Bei Cai
Abstract
Circulating cytokines and chemokines play critical roles in hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Here, we explored the effects of proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory effector molecules on HBV progression, e antigen seroconversion, and liver function. Our results showed that circulating interleukin (IL)-17 may be helpful in HBV spontaneous clearance [odds ratio <a:math xmlns:a="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M1"> <a:mfenced open="(" close=")"> <a:mrow> <a:mtext>OR</a:mtext> </a:mrow> </a:mfenced> <a:mo>=</a:mo> <a:mn>1.468</a:mn> </a:math> , <e:math xmlns:e="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M2"> <e:mn>95</e:mn> <e:mi>%</e:mi> <e:mtext>confidence</e:mtext> <e:mtext> </e:mtext> <e:mtext>interval</e:mtext> <e:mtext> </e:mtext> <e:mfenced open="(" close=")"> <e:mrow> <e:mtext>CI</e:mtext> </e:mrow> </e:mfenced> <e:mo>=</e:mo> <e:mn>1.080</e:mn> <e:mo>–</e:mo> <e:mn>1.995</e:mn> </e:math> , <i:math xmlns:i="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M3"> <i:mi>P</i:mi> <i:mo>=</i:mo> <i:mn>0.014</i:mn> </i:math> ] and protective against HBV-related hepatoma development ( <k:math xmlns:k="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M4"> <k:mtext>OR</k:mtext> <k:mo>=</k:mo> <k:mn>0.933</k:mn> </k:math> , <m:math xmlns:m="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M5"> <m:mn>95</m:mn> <m:mi>%</m:mi> <m:mtext>CI</m:mtext> <m:mo>=</m:mo> <m:mn>0.910</m:mn> <m:mo>–</m:mo> <m:mn>0.957</m:mn> </m:math> , <o:math xmlns:o="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M6"> <o:mi>P</o:mi> <o:mo><</o:mo> <o:mn>0.001</o:mn> </o:math> ). IL-1β negatively affected HBV clearance ( <q:math xmlns:q="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M7"> <q:mtext>OR</q:mtext> <q:mo>=</q:mo> <q:mn>0.052</q:mn> </q:math> , <s:math xmlns:s="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M8"> <s:mn>95</s:mn> <s:mi>%</s:mi> <s:mtext>CI</s:mtext> <s:mo>=</s:mo> <s:mn>0.005</s:mn> <s:mo>–</s:mo> <s:mn>0.534</s:mn> </s:math> , <u:math xmlns:u="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M9"> <u:mi>P</u:mi> <u:mo>=</u:mo> <u:mn>0.013</u:mn> </u:math> ). In patients with chronic hepatitis B, interferon-γ-inducible protein-10 (IP-10) levels significantly increased in the group of abnormal liver function ( <w:math xmlns:w="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M10"> <w:mi>P</w:mi> <w:mo>=</w:mo> <w:mn>0.006</w:mn> </w:math> ). Furthermore, positive correlations of IP-10 with alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase levels were observed ( <y:math xmlns:y="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M11"> <y:msub> <y:mrow> <y:mi>r</y:mi> </y:mrow> <y:mrow> <y:mi>s</y:mi> </y:mrow> </y:msub> <y:mo>=</y:mo> <y:mn>0.546</y:mn> <y:mtext> </y:mtext> <y:mtext>and</y:mtext> <y:mtext> </y:mtext> <y:mn>0.644</y:mn> </y:math> , respectively; <ab:math xmlns:ab="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M12"> <ab:mi>P</ab:mi> <ab:mo><</ab:mo> <ab:mn>0.001</ab:mn> </ab:math> ). In conclusion, inflammatory cytokines and chemokines may be a “double-edged sword” for HBV clearance and progression. Further exploration of the roles of IL-17, IL-1β, and IP-10 in chronic HBV infection is needed.