OL-029 Differential effects of interferon and lamivudine on serum HBV RNA inhibition in patients with chronic hepatitis B

Yi-Wen Huang, Kazuaki Chayama, Masataka Tsuge, Shoichi Takahashi, Tsuyoshi Hatakeyama, Hiromi Abe, Michio Imamura, Jui-Ting Hu, Chun-Jen Liu, Ming-Yang Lai, Pei-Jer Chen, Ding-Shinn Chen (+2 others)
2009 International Journal of Infectious Diseases  
Methods: Levels of IL-18 was determined by ELISA in serum from healthy individuals (n=31), HB-immune patients (n=13), anti-HBe positive patients with HBV DNA levels below 10 4 (n=25) or above 10 4 (n=20) copies/ml and HBeAg positive patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) (n=14). HBV DNA was assessed by Cobas Amplicor HBV Monitor TM test. IL-18 reactivity was monitored longitudinally in comparison with the viremia in 15 CHB patients treated with interferon-alpha. Results: The serum levels of
more » ... 18 was significantly higher in anti-HBeAg positive and HBeAg positive patients with CHB compared with healthy individuals (p<0.05). In vivo, the longitudinal study demonstrated a highly inverse correlation between the levels of HBV DNA and the circulating concentrations of IL-18. Patients with IFN alpha-induced reduction in HBV DNA levels exhibited a significant increase in measurable IL-18 reactivity (p<0.001) which always peaked after the decrease of HBV DNA in serum. Conclusions: The inverse correlation between the decrease of HBV viremia and the increase of measurable circulatory levels of IL-18 indicate a strong relationship between the control of replication of HBV DNA and the production of IL-18 in CHB.
doi:10.1016/s1201-9712(09)60358-1 fatcat:vou6wulurbhh7fa4v64kqkdoji