title: Production of interleukin-18 and interleukin-12 in patients suffering from chronic hepatitis C virus infection before antiviral therapy.
abstract: Interleukin-12 and -18 (IL-12 and IL-18) are known to enhance the cytotoxic T-lymphocyte response synergistically, but their precise involvement in hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is not well known, especially for IL-18. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to study the production of these cytokines in plasma and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) stimulated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of patients infected chronically with HCV before initiation of antiviral therapy. Fifty-six patients and 40 healthy controls were evaluated. Patients infected with genotype 1 or with genotype other than genotype 1 HCV had significantly a high production of plasma IL-12 compared with controls (P < 0.05). However, patients infected with genotype 1 HCV had lower levels of PBMC IL-18 than were founded in the controls (P < 0.05); plasma IL-18 also tended to be lower in this group of patients than in the controls, although nonsignificantly. Plasma IL-18 was related to hepatic histological activity (P < 0.05). The data suggest a relationship between these two cytokines and some features of HCV infection, so that their respective production in relation to the outcome of the infection deserves further study.
authors.affiliation: Institut de Virologie et Unité INSERM 544, Université Louis Pasteur, Strasbourg, France. evelyne.schvoerer@viro-ulp.u-strasbg.fr
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Schvoerer
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Navas
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Thumann
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fuchs
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Meyer
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Habersetzer
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Stoll-Keller
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D005260:Female; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D018664:Interleukin-12 / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D020382:Interleukin-18 / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000276:immunology; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000494:pharmacology; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D020382:Interleukin-18; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D018664:Interleukin-12