Clinical significance and correlations of IL-10, IL-12 and IFN-γ levels in the patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection

Abstract

Objective To determine the changes in peripheral plasma concentrations of interleukin-10 (IL-10), interleukin -12 (IL-12) and interfoeron-γ(IFN-γ) in the patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and their correlations with HBV infection stage or HBV DNA load of HBV carriers. Methods Data of 135 patients with chronic HBV infection from March 2016 to March 2017 were collected, the patients included 32 chronic HBV carriers, 61 with chronic hepatitis and 42 with cirrhosis. Forty healthy subjects served as controls. The concentrations of IL-10, IL-12 and IFN-γ were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Correlation analysis was performed using the Pearson correlation test, which was performed to analyze the correlation between IL-10, IL-12, IFN-γ and HBV infection stage, HBV DNA load of HBV carriers. Results Compared with those in healthy controls, plasma IL-10 and IL-12 levels in patients with chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis increased significantly (F=22.06, 15.67, P=0.013, 0.021), plasma IL-10 and IL-12 levels in cirrhosis cases were higher than those in chronic hepatitis (all P 0.05), IL-12 and IFN-γ were significantly positively correlated (r=0.687, P<0.05). Conclusions IL-10, IL-12 and IFN-γ may play an important role in the chronic HBV infection. Key words: Chronic hepatitis B; Interleukin (IL)-10; IL-12; Interferon (IFN)-γ