Abstract:
Background: Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is one of the major causes of liver cirrhosis and carcinoma. Intravenous drug usage remains one of the major risk factors for HCV transmission, and the issue continues to burden healthcare and social systems. Studies have indicated that an imbalance of cytokine activities could contribute to the pathogenesis of chronic HCV infection. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess and correlate serum cytokine levels with chronic HCV infection in Malay male subjects. Method: Thirty-nine subjects were enrolled from various health clinics in Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia, and divided into two groups: patients with chronic HCV infection (HP) and healthy control (HS). The serum cytokines IL-10, IL-6, TNF-α were simultaneously measured using Luminex assay, and serum TGF-β1 was measured by ELISA. Result: There were statistically significant differences in the mean serum levels of IL-10, IL-6, and TGF-β1 in HP compared to HS (p = 0.0096, p = 0.0180, and p=0.0005, respectively). There was no significant difference in the mean serum level of TNF-α in HP compared to HS group. Conclusion: Serum levels of IL-10 and IL-6 is associated with chronic HCV infection. However, serum level of TGF-β1 was negatively associated with chronic HCV infection and there was no significant association observed for TNF-α.
