The Expression Of Chemokine MCP-1and The Correlation Between Level Of MCP-1and Disease Progression In The Chronic Hepatitis B Patients

Objective In order to study the role of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1(MCP-1) in the pathogenesis of chronic hepatitis B (CHB). Expression level ofMCP-1in the serum and liver biopsies of patients were detected. Correlationsbetween MCP-1expression level and HBV DNA load, serum biochemistry markersand degree of liver histological damage were included in the CHB patients. Methods124patients with chronic hepatitis B and20normal controls were investigated. Serumand liver biopsies of CHB patients were collected. The serum concentrations ofMCP-1in CHB patients and controls groups were measured by ELISA andquantification of serum HBV DNA was performed by real-time PCR. Routinebiochemical methods were applied to detect serum biochemistry markers.Quantitative Real-Time RT-PCR and Immunohistochemistry (IHC) were applied todetect gene and protein expression of MCP-1in the liver biopsy respectively. ResultsThe serum concentrations of MCP-1were157±80ng/L (n=59) in CHB Patientsand265±44ng/L (n=20) in control group. MCP-1was lower in CHB patients thanthat of in control subjects (P <0.001). Significantly negative correlation lied betweenthe concentrations of MCP-1and HBV DNA copies in the CHB patients’ serum (r=﹣0.602, P <0.001，n=59). However, there was no correlation between serumMCP-1level and serum markers of CHB patients. Furthermore, there was also nocorrelation between MCP-1mRNA level in the liver biopsies and HBV DNA copiesin the serum and live of CHB patients’(r=﹣0.036，P=0.817；r=﹣0.174，P=0.462). There was positive correlations between serum MCP-1level and grading ofinflammation (r=0.353, P=0.011, n=51), staging of fibrosis（r=0.496, P <0.001,n=51）in CHB patients. Significantly positive correlations were found betweenmRNA levels of MCP-1and grading of inflammation (r=0.465, P <0.001, n=59), staging of fibrosis (r=0.493, P <0.001, n=59), Similarly, significantly positivecorrlations was observed between immunohistochemistry score and grading ofinflammation (r=0.486, P=0.001, n=46), staging of fibrosis (r=0.542, P <0.001,n=46). Immunohistochemical staining showed that the expression of MCP-1ispresent in hepatocyte, the epithelial cells of bile ducts, infiltrated hepatic stellate cellsand monocytes in the fibrogenesis area and the portal tract of liver tissue.Conclusion Concentrations of MCP-1is decreased in the serum of CHB patients.Moreover, negative correlation lies between the concentration of MCP-1and the HBVDNA load in CHB patients’serum. Positive correlation lies betwees the expressionlevel of MCP-1and histological grading and staging of CHB. MCP-1involed in liverlesions of CHB. These suggest that MCP-1may play a critical role in thepathogenesis of CHB.