Serum interleukin 6 level correlates with outcomes of acute exacerbation of chronic hepatitis B

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http://www.springerlink.com/content/4g48112287qg2637/

Hepatology International

DOI: 10.1007/s12072-011-9299-2Online First™

Original Article

Serum interleukin 6 level correlates with outcomes of acute exacerbation of

chronic hepatitis B

Corinna Jen-Hui Pan, Hui-Lin Wu, Fang-Tzu Kuo, Jia-Horng Kao,

Tai-Chung Tseng, Chen-Hua Liu, Pei-Jer Chen, Chun-Jen Liu and Ding-Shinn Chen

Abstract

Purpose

Acute exacerbation (AE) of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is common

and negatively impacts the clinical outcome. Factors predicting outcomes after

exacerbations were only partly clarified. We investigated the host immune

parameters associated with long-term outcomes.

Methods

We prospectively examined the profiles of serum cytokines and chemokines in 36

consecutive hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive patients (male 72%, age 40.8

± 9.9 years, genotype B/C 75%/25%) who developed AE in a medical center. The

patients were followed up for a median of 4 years (range 2–6 years) post-AE. The

impact of six cytokines (tumor necrosis factor alfa, interferon gamma, IL-2,

IL-4, IL-6, and IL-10) and five chemokines (CXCL10/IP-10, CCL2/MCP-1, CXCL9/MIG,

CCL5/RANTES, and CXCL8/IL-8) at the onset of AE activity on the long-term

outcomes were analyzed.

Results

Of 36 patients, 22 (61.1%) developed HBeAg seroconversion during follow-up

(Group I), and the remaining 14 patients did not obtain HBeAg seroconversion

(Group II). Baseline characteristics were generally similar between two groups

of patients. In Group I patients, the frequency of undetectable serum IL-6 level

(<3 pg/mL) at the onset of AE was significantly higher in comparison with Group

II patients in multivariate analysis (86.4 vs. 42.9%, P = 0.016).

Conclusions

Our findings indicate that undetectable serum IL-6 level at the early stage of

AE correlated with the long-term outcomes and may serve as a useful clinical

predictor.