Soluble inflammatory markers as predictors of hepatocellular damage and therapeutic response in chronic hepatitis C

• Author(s): Moura,Alexandre Sampaio ; Carmo,Ricardo Andrade ; Teixeira,Antonio Lucio ; Rocha,Manoel Otávio da Costa
• Date: 2009
• Origin: Oasisbr
• Subject(s): Hepatitis C; chemokines; tumor necrosis factor receptor; interferon-alpha; liver fibrosis
• Document Type: Journal article
• Language: English

Description

Hepatitis C is an important burden worldwide being an important cause of cirrhosis and liver cancer in different parts of the world. Host immune response, especially T helper type 1 (Th1) cell-mediated, seems to play an important role in disease progression but is also crucial for viral elimination following specific therapy. Immune activation can be evaluated using peripheral levels of different cytokines, such as different chemokines (e.g. CCL5, CXCL10) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), and their soluble receptors (e.g. soluble TNF-α receptors 1 (sTNF-R1) and 2 (sTNF-R2). This review article focuses on the potential use of peripheral inflammatory markers as predictors of liver histological changes and therapeutic response among patients with chronic hepatitis C.