title: Serum levels of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 and nitric oxide in patients with chronic hepatitis related to hepatitis C virus: connection fibrosis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Chronicity of inflammation or fibrosis of liver parenchyma in patients with hepatitis C virus infection can be related to features of immunological responses in the liver. Adhesive interactions and free radicals are two important aspects of this inflammatory response. The aim of this study was to investigate serum sICAM-1 and nitric oxide levels in the sera of patients with post-hepatitis C chronic hepatitis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty chronic hepatitis patients diagnosed histopathologically and positive for antihepatitis C virus antibody and 20 healthy carriers of hepatitis C virus were included as study and control groups, respectively. Serum hepatitis C virus-RNA, sICAM-I, nitric oxide, blb, albumin and ALT determinations were made in the specimens of each subject in the study and control group.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean serum sICAM-I levels of study and control subjects were 463.85 +/- 20.42 ng/mL and 241.85 +/- 13.71 ng/mL, respectively (p < 0.01). The same values for nitric oxide levels were 53.57 +/- 3.63 mumol/L and 32.17 +/- 2.19 mumol/L in the same order and also significantly different from each other (p < 0.01). There was a close correlation between fibrosis scores and serum sICAM-I levels (r = 0.77, p < 0.001), serum albumin (r = -0.54, p = 0.014) and ALT (r = 0.49, p = 0.02). Nitric oxide levels, on the other hand, negatively correlated with fibrosis scores (r = -0.59, p = 0.006), sICAM-1 (r = -0.57, p = 0.009) and ALT (r = -0.54, p = 0.013).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Increased serum levels of sICAM are associated with increased fibrotic changes of patients with hepatitis C virus infection, whereas, nitric oxide which may be a suppressor molecule for fibrosing levels are inversely related to fibrotic process.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Mersin University, Turkey. ozpata@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Cengiz
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pata
authors.forename: Aziz
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yazar
authors.forename: Engin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Altintas
authors.forename: Gürbüz
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Polat
authors.forename: Ozlem
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Aydin
authors.forename: Naci
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tiftik
authors.forename: Kamuran
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Konca
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001706:Biopsy; D005260:Female; D005609:Free Radicals / Q000378:metabolism; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D018799:Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 / Q000097:blood*; D008099:Liver / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D008111:Liver Function Tests; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D005609:Free Radicals; D018799:Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1; D009569:Nitric Oxide