Increase of chemokine interferon-inducible protein-10 (IP-10) in the serum of patients with autoimmune liver diseases and increase of its mRNA expression in hepatocytes.
To clarify the role of IP-10 in autoimmune liver diseases, we studied the serum levels of IP-10 in 14 patients with autoimmune hepatitis (AIH), 23 patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC), and 65 patients with chronic viral hepatitis (20 type B and 45 type C). The hepatic expression of IP-10 mRNA and the correlation between the serum levels of IP-10 and clinical parameters were also evaluated. In addition to 20 healthy controls, 16 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients were included as an extrahepatic inflammatory disease. The serum level of IP-10 was significantly (P < 0.02) higher in patients with AIH, PBC, and chronic hepatitis B and C than in healthy controls, and it was significantly correlated (P < 0.05) with the serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase in patients with AIH, PBC, and chronic hepatitis B and C. The serum level of IP-10 was not elevated in RA patients. After successful treatment of AIH and chronic hepatitis C, the serum level of IP-10 decreased to the same level as in healthy volunteers. As we previously showed in cases with chronic hepatitis B or C, in situ hybridization in both AIH and PBC cases demonstrated the expression of IP-10 mRNA in hepatocytes around focal or lobular necrosis surrounded by infiltrating mononuclear cells, whereas IP-10 mRNA was not expressed in areas around the damaged bile ducts in PBC cases. The present results suggest that IP-10 is specifically produced by hepatocytes in inflammatory areas irrespective of the aetiology of hepatitis, and that IP-10 may help to recruit T cells to the hepatic lesions in autoimmune liver diseases as well as in chronic viral hepatitis.
Nishioji
K
K
Third Department of Internal Medicine, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan.
Okanoue
T
T
Itoh
Y
Y
Narumi
S
S
Sakamoto
M
M
Nakamura
H
H
Morita
A
A
Kashima
K
K
D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D001483:Base Sequence; D054357:Chemokine CXCL10; D019743:Chemokines, CXC / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics
D054357:Chemokine CXCL10; D019743:Chemokines, CXC; D012333:RNA, Messenger