The Relationship Of Serum Nitric Oxide Level With Response To Interferon-α Therapy In Chronic Hepatitis B

【Background and Objective】About 350 million persons are positive for hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg)in the world,mainly distribute in Asia,Africa and Latin America.China is high popular area for the hepatitis B virus(HBV)infection.According to the epidemiological survey in 1992,the HBsAg positive incidence is 9.75%in China, about 120 million people,in which about 30 to 40 million are patients with chronic hepatitis B.Chronic hepatitis B is a common disease which severely endangering the health of people.Anti-virus treatment is key point blocking progress in the pathological damage,but there is not special effective medicine at present.Although interferon-α(IFN-α)is the first choice in antiviral treatment of chronic hepatitis B, but the antiviral mechanism of interferon is not very clear,curative effect for chronic hepatitis B is not yet satisfactory.In recent years some study,which investigated the intra-cellular signal transduction pathway of interferon and interaction with other cytokines,found that nitric oxide(NO)participated in the pathophysiological process, which was an important factor.But the study on the expression of NO before and after IFN-αtreatment is rarely reports.Here,the level of serum NO in patients with hepatitis B e antigen(HBeAg)-positive chronic hepatitis B accepting IFN-αtreatment were observed and analyzed.Purpose was to explore the role of NO in the process of HBV infection and the correlation of serum NO expression and interferon-αanti-virus response in chronic hepatitis B,to clarify the treatment mechanism of IFN-α,as well as profit to improve the efficacy for treatment. 【Materials and Methods】Forty HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis B patients were selected in this study, and 20 healthy cases were as control group.Serum NO levels were detected and analyzed before treatment,treatment for 12 weeks and for 24 weeks.Investigate the relationship of serum NO levels with response to IFN-αtreatment.【Results】Serum nitric oxide levels in patients with chronic hepatitis B were significantly higher than which in healthy control group before the treatment(p＜0.01).The analysis of correlativity illustrates that NO has positive correlation with ALT(r= 0.673,P＜0.001)in patients with chronic hepatitis B.Serum NO level has been gradually declining with the extension of treatment time in the responder,and the serum NO levels before treatment were significantly lower comparing with which in 12 weeks and 24 weeks of treatment(P＜0.01)in non-response group,Serum NO were not significant changed in the course of treatment,showing no significant difference(P＞0.05)before and after the treatment.【Conclusion】Serum Nitric oxide level is correlative to HBV infection,may be playing an important role in HBV-induced liver disease and can be used as an indicator for IFN-αantiviral effects.