A Preliminary Study Of Interleukin-12 And Interleukin-10 In Pathogenesis Of Chronic Hepatitis B

Background: T cell cytokines are known to play a major role in determining protection and pathology in infectious disease.Interleukin 12(IL-12) is a key inducer of the type 1 T cell cytokine pattern.conversely,interleukin 10(IL-10) down-regulates IL-12 and type 1 cytokine responses. Both Interleukin 12(IL-12) and interleukin 10(IL-10) are involved in the chronic hepatitis B, But the study about IL-12 or IL-10 in human liver tissue has not ever been reported. In our study, we will understand the role of IL-12 and IL-10 and the relationship betweenIL-12 and IL-10 in hepatitis B by measuring IL-12 and IL-10 in serums and in liver tissues. Methods:The levels of IL-12 and IL-10 in serum from 53 patients with CHB of whom 33 cases recepted interferon alfa treatment and patients with acute hepatitis B and 12 normal controls were measured by ELISA. The exprssions of IL-12 and IL-10 in liver biopsy specimens from 33 chronic hepatitis B cases recepted interferon alfa treatment and 6 normal controls were detected by semi-quantatitive histoimmunochemistry.Results: The serum levels of IL-12 and IL-10 are sigificiently elevated in patients with acute or chronic hepatitis B compared with that of controls(p<0.01),IL-12 levels in patients with acute hepatitis B were higher than that in patients with chronic hepatitis B, IL-10 levels in acute self-limited hepatitis B did not differ from CHB.patients with seropositive for HBVDNA had higher levers of IL-10 in serums,but the levers of IL-10 and IL-12 in serums were lower in patients with chronic heavy and severe hepatitis B than in patients with chronic mild and moderate hepatitis B.The pretreatment serum or tissue levels of IL-12 and IL-10 in responders to IFN-αare significantly higher than that in nonresponsers. In addition,both IL-12 and IL-10 exist mostly in liver cell plasma and on liver cell membrane,however IL-12 and IL-10 were undectable in normal liver tissue.IL-12 levels were correlated with IL-10.(r=0.557,p<0.01),The analyse shows positive relation between IL-12 and IL-10 and IL-10 and histological activity index(G) and negative relation between HBcAg in liver and the ratio of IL-12 to IL-10. Conclusion:IL-12 is important for viral clearance in hepatitis B;Il-10 reflects the immunological activity in liver;the assay of IL-12 and IL-10 is of goodness to prospect the effect of IFN-α...