Abstract
Cytokines are crucial factors in the non-cytolytic antiviral process to inhibit HBV gene expression and replication. Interleukin (IL)-21 has been suggested to play an important role in HBV infection, but it remains unknown whether IL-21 can inhibit HBV replication or how it inhibits HBV replication. In this study, we investigated the influence of IL-21 on HBV replication based on human hepatoma Huh7.93 cells co-cultured with human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and the possible correlation among IL-21, interferon-γ, tumour necrosis factor-α and IL-10. We demonstrated that the decrease of IL-21 expression and the increase of IL-10 expression in PBMCs could promote HBV replication in vitro. We further revealed that IL-21 is not only able to effectively suppress HBV replication directly but also reduce HBV replication by inhibition of IL-10 secretion. Our results provide important evidence for the non-cytolytic antiviral mechanism mediated by cytokines and their interactions in chronic hepatitis B.
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