title: The effects of pegylated interferon-α and ribavirin on liver and serum concentrations of activin-A and follistatin in normal Wistar rat: a preliminary report.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Activin-A and follistatin regulate the liver and the immune system.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To measure the effects of treatment with pegylated-interferon-α (Peg-IFN-α) and ribavirin on the concentrations of mature activin-A and follistatin in serum and liver tissue homogenates in rats.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 28 male Wistar rats were divided equally into four groups as follow: 'Control group' (n = 7), 'PEG only group' consisted of those that only received a weekly injection of Peg-IFN-α (6 µg/rat) for 4 weeks, 'RBV only group' received ribavirin only (4 mg/rat/day) orally for 35 days and the last group received both Peg-IFN-α and ribavirin 'PEG & RBV group'. The concentrations of candidate proteins in serum and liver samples were measured using ELISA.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Pegylated-interferon-α decreased activin-A and increased follistatin significantly in serum and liver of 'PEG only' and 'PEG & RBV' groups compared with the 'Control' and 'RBV only' groups (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference between the 'RBV only' and 'Control' groups (P > 0.05) in the concentrations of candidate proteins. A significant positive correlations between serum and liver activin-A (r = 0.727; P = 0.02 × 10(-3)) and follistatin (r = 0.540; P = 0.01) was also detected.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Pegylated-interferon-α modulates the production of activin-A and follistatin by the liver, which is reflected and can be detected at the serum level. Further studies are needed to explore the role of Peg-IFN-α based therapy on the production of activins and follistatin by the liver and immune cells.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory Medicine Department, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Umm Al-Qura University, Al Abdeyah, PO Box 7607, Makkah, KSA. bassem.refaat@yahoo.co.uk.
authors.forename: Bassem
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Refaat
authors.affiliation: Laboratory Medicine Department, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Umm Al-Qura University, Al Abdeyah, PO Box 7607, Makkah, KSA. dr_adel_elshemy2006@yahoo.com.|Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt. dr_adel_elshemy2006@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Adel Galal
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: El-Shemi
authors.affiliation: Laboratory Medicine Department, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Umm Al-Qura University, Al Abdeyah, PO Box 7607, Makkah, KSA. aashshi@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Ahmed Mohammed
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Ashshi
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000818:Animals; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D004338:Drug Combinations; D038681:Follistatin / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D028322:Inhibin-beta Subunits / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics*; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000494:pharmacology; D012254:Ribavirin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D004338:Drug Combinations; D038681:Follistatin; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; C103008:inhibin beta A subunit; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D012254:Ribavirin; D028322:Inhibin-beta Subunits; C100416:peginterferon alfa-2a