Abstract
The dysregulation of cytokine production can lead to an inefficient immune response, promoting viral persistence that induces the progression of chronic viral hepatitis. The study investigated the association of the IL6-174G/C polymorphism with changes in cytokine levels and its influence on the persistence and progression of chronic hepatitis caused by HBV and HCV in 72 patients with chronic hepatitis B (HBV), 100 patients with hepatitis C (HCV), and a control group of 300 individuals. The genotyping of the IL6-174G/C polymorphism was performed by real-time PCR, and cytokine levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). HCV patients with the wild-type genotype (GG) had a higher viral load (p = 0.0230). The plasma levels of IL-6 were higher among patients infected with HBV and HCV than among the control group (p < 0.0001). Patients with HCV were associated with increased inflammatory activity (A2–A3; p < 0.0001). In hepatitis C, carriers of the GG genotype had higher levels of IL-6 (p = 0.0286), which were associated with A2–A3 inflammatory activity (p = 0.0097). Patients with A2–A3 inflammatory activity and GG genotype had higher levels of IL-6 than those with the GC/CC genotype (p = 0.0127). In conclusion, the wild-type genotype for the IL6-174G/C polymorphism was associated with high levels of IL-6 and HCV viral load and inflammatory activity, suggesting that this genotype may be a contributing factor to virus-induced chronic infection.
Highlights
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Hepatitis C virus (HCV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) are the two main infectious agents that cause hepatitis worldwide
Individuals coinfected with hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis delta virus, or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and patients who used or were using specific antiviral therapy against HCV were excluded from the study
The association of the IL6-174G/C polymorphism with chronic HBV infection is not well defined because several studies have found no association [19,30], some studies suggest that the wild-type (G) genotype is associated with susceptibility to chronic
Summary
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) are the two main infectious agents that cause hepatitis worldwide. It is estimated that 296 million people are chronically infected with HBV worldwide, while 71 million are chronic HCV carriers [1]. These viruses cause liver inflammation, which can be persistent. Chronic HBV and HCV infections represent a major health problem because they can progress to liver failure, liver cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma [2,3].
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