title: Serum levels of soluble interferon Alfa/Beta receptor as an inhibitory factor of interferon in the patients with chronic hepatitis C.
abstract: Human serum contains a soluble form of interferon alfa/beta (sIFN alpha/beta) receptors, the functional and clinical significance of which has not been investigated in patients with chronic hepatitis C. In the present study, serum levels of sIFN alpha/beta receptor were assessed in 81 patients with chronic hepatitis C and correlated with the effectiveness of IFN therapy in these patients. Serum levels of sIFN alpha/beta receptor were significantly higher in patients with chronic hepatitis C than in healthy control patients (P <.0001). In these patients, serum levels of sIFN alpha/beta receptor were correlated with those of alanine transaminase (ALT) (P <.05), (2'-5')serum oligo(A) synthetase (2-5AS) (P <.0001), and pathological stages of liver fibrosis (P <.01). In 55 patients with chronic hepatitis C who underwent IFN therapy, there was an inverse correlation between the pretherapeutic serum levels of sIFN alpha/beta receptor and the rate of increase in serum levels of 2-5AS after the start of IFN (P <.01). Pretherapeutic serum levels of sIFN alpha/beta receptor were significantly lower in patients who showed sustained response to IFN therapy compared with those who did not respond to the therapy (P <.05). Multivariate analysis showed that low levels of serum sIFN alpha/beta receptor (</=4.0 ng/mL) (P <.05) and serological hepatitis C virus genotype II (P <.05) were independent variables contributing to sustained response to IFN therapy. Thus, pretherapeutic serum levels of sIFN alpha/beta receptor were correlated with the effectiveness of IFN therapy, suggesting that sIFN alpha/beta receptor suppresses the effectiveness of IFN therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C.
authors.affiliation: First Department of Internal Medicine, Kanazawa University School of Medicine, Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mizukoshi
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kaneko
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kaji
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Terasaki
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Matsushita
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Muraguchi
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ohmoto
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
mesh_terms: D015088:2',5'-Oligoadenylate Synthetase / Q000097:blood; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008099:Liver / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D008875:Middle Aged; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood; D053633:Receptor, Interferon alpha-beta; D017471:Receptors, Interferon / Q000097:blood*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D012016:Reference Values; D012044:Regression Analysis; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D012367:RNA, Viral; D017471:Receptors, Interferon; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D053633:Receptor, Interferon alpha-beta; D000410:Alanine Transaminase; D015088:2',5'-Oligoadenylate Synthetase