Changes Of Serum Level Of Interleukin 15 And It's Significances In Patients With Chronic Hepatitis B Virus Infection

Objective:To explore the changes of serum level of interleukin 15(IL-15)and it's significances in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus(HBV)infection.Methods:A total of 68 patients with chronic HBV infection were studied.The serum IL-15 level was detected by ELISA in chronic HBV-infected patients and 12 normal controls.The results were compared between them.The relationship between the changes of serum IL-15 level and the clinical spectrum of the disease was analyzed.The results of serum IL-15 level were also compared among groups based on HBeAg express status and the serum level of HBV viral load.Results:(1)The serum levels of IL-15 in the chronic hepatitis B(CHB),the chronic HBV carriers(ASC)and the HBV-liver cirrhosis(LC)were significantly higher than those observed in the control group(P＜0.001).The serum level of IL-15 in CHB group was significantly higher than those observed in ASC group and LC group(P＜0.05).No significant difference was observed between ASC and LC groups (P＞0.05).(2)Among mild,moderate and severe CHB groups,the differences were not statistically significant(P＞0.05).(3)The serum levels of IL-15 in the chronic HBV-infected patients with HBV DNA / HBeAg positive group and HBV DNA / HBeAg negative group were significantly higher than those observed in the control group,respectively(P＜0.01).However,the serum levels of IL-15 in HBV DNA/ HBeAg positive group showed no statistically significant differences from those in HBV DNA / HBeAg negative group(P＞0.05).The differences among various HBV viral load groups were also not statistically significant(P＞0.05).(4)The serum levels of IL-15 in various serum ALT groups were significantly higher than those observed in the control group(P＜0.01).No significant differences were observed among various serum ALT groups(P＞0.05).Conclusion:HBV infection influences on the serum IL-15 level in chronic HBV-infected patients.IL-15 might be responsible for liver inflammatory injury process and diseases progression in chronic HBV infection.It seems that the changes of serum IL-15 level was not related to the HBV replication status.