title: Cytokine profiles and hepatic injury in occult hepatitis C versus chronic hepatitis C virus infection.
abstract: Occult hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a new entity that should be considered when diagnosing patients with abnormal liver functions of unknown origin. This work was carried out to evaluate T-helper 1/T-helper 2 (Th1/Th2) cytokine profiles in patients with occult HCV infection versus chronic hepatitis C (CHC) infection, also to investigate any association between theses cytokines and liver histological features in both groups. Serum levels of Th1 cytokines (IL-2, IFN-gamma) and Th2 (IL-4 and IL-10) were measured in 35 patients with occult HCV infection compared to 50 patients with chronic hepatitis C infection and 30 healthy controls. We have found that Th1 cytokines were significantly increased in patients with CHC infection than in both occult HCV infection and control groups (p less than 0.001). On the other hand, serum IL-4 levels were higher in occult HCV infection than in CHC and control groups (p less than 0.001). Furthermore, serum IL-10 levels were higher in both patient groups vs control group (pless than 0.001), with no significant difference between CHC and occult HCV groups. Finally, only serum IL-10 levels were significantly higher among patients with high activity (A2-A3) than those with low activity (A0-A1) in both CHC and occult HCV groups (p=0.038, p=0.025, respectively). Patients with occult HCV infection exhibited a distinct immunoregulatory cytokine pattern that is shifted towards the Th2 arm.
authors.affiliation: Department of Tropical Medicine, Mansoura University, Egypt.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mousa
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Mansoura University, Egypt.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Eldars
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Mansoura University, Egypt.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Eldegla
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Mansoura University, Egypt.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Fouda
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Mansoura University, Egypt.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gad
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pathology, Mansoura University, Egypt.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Abousamra
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pathology, Mansoura University, Egypt.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Elmasry
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Mansoura University, Egypt.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Arafa
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*; D008111:Liver Function Tests; D008297:Male; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D018417:Th1 Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D018418:Th2 Cells / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D012367:RNA, Viral