Serum cytokine levels in patients with chronic hepatitis B according to lamivudine therapy

Background: Cytokines are known to play critical roles in the pathogenesis of chronic hepatitis B (CHB). However, the relationship between cytokines and treatment responses to drugs for CHB is not clearly defined yet. We measured the serum cytokine levels of interleukin (IL)-1α, IL-1β, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, vascular endothelial growth factor, interferon-γ, tumor necrosis factor- (TNF-α), macrophage/monocyte chemotactic protein 1, and epidermal growth factor to elucidate the cytokine expression pattern according to the patients' responses to lamivudine. Methods: Fifty-eight specimens from 27 CHB patients and 98 specimens from healthy individuals were tested for 12 kinds of cytokines. The patients were grouped as: before treatment, ongoing treatment, duringmaintaining remission, and patients with viral breakthrough owing to resistance against lamivudine. The Evidence Investigator (Randox, Antrim, UK), a protein chip analyzer, was used to quantify serum cytokines. Results: Among 12 cytokines, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, and TNF-α were significantly elevated in patients with resistance against lamivudine compared with patients maintaining response. IL-8, IL-10, and TNF-α levels also weak to moderate correlated with ALT and HBV-DNA concentrations. Conclusions: Serum cytokine levels would reflect the pathological differences of the individual treatment phases and may become useful indices in monitoring the treatment response of CHB.