title: Serum levels of interleukin-1 alpha, interleukin-1 beta, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor in patients with acute viral hepatitis.
abstract: Serum levels of interleukin-1 alpha (IL-1 alpha), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) in patients with acute viral hepatitis were investigated. Twelve patients suffering from acute viral hepatitis were studied; 8 patients presented with acute hepatitis B, 2 patients with acute hepatitis A, and 2 patients with acute hepatitis C. Serum levels of IL-1 alpha, IL-1 beta, IL-6, and TNF-alpha were significantly increased in all patients with acute viral hepatitis. Decreased serum levels of all cytokines were noted in four patients with acute hepatitis B during the recovery phase of infection. In addition, IL-1 alpha, IL-1 beta, IL-6, and TNF-alpha were undetectable at the end of a follow-up period of 6 months. Our study shows that increased levels of IL-1 alpha, IL-1 beta, IL-6, and TNF-alpha are probably related to hepatitis activity and thus may have some role in hepatocytic injury.
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, Regional Hospital, Varese, Italy.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Torre
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zeroli
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Giola
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ferrario
authors.forename: G P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Fiori
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bonetta
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tambini
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006506:Hepatitis A / Q000276:immunology; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000276:immunology; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000276:immunology; D006525:Hepatitis, Viral, Human / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007375:Interleukin-1 / Q000097:blood*; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D007375:Interleukin-1; D015850:Interleukin-6; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha