Role of serum soluble Fas/soluble Fas ligand and TNF-alpha on response to interferon-alpha therapy in chronic hepatitis C

Aims/Background: To determine the relationship between host factors and hos t response to interferon (IFN) therapy, serum soluble Fas (sFas), soluble F as ligand (sFas ligand), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) were a nalyzed in 41 patients with chronic hepatitis C (CH-C) treated with IFN-alp ha. Methods: Serum levels of sFas, sFas ligand, and TNF-alpha were measured at 0, 4, and 24 weeks of IFN therapy. Results. Eighteen patients were comp lete responders (CR) and 23 patients were nonresponders (NR). Serum levels of sFas and TNF-alpha in patients with CHC were significantly higher than t hose in healthy controls (p<0.01 and p<0.01, respectively). Serum sFas liga nd levels were significantly lower in CH-C patients than in healthy control s (p<0.01). Before IFN therapy, serum levels of sFas in NR were significant ly higher than those in CR (p<0.05). At 4 weeks of IFN therapy, serum level s of sFas of CR were significantly elevated compared with levels before IFN therapy (p<0.05). Serum levels of sFas correlated with the histological ac tivity of the liver (p<0.05) and alanine aminotransferase (p<0.05). None of the three parameters, serum sFas, sFas ligand, or TNF-alpha levels, correl ated with each other, with HCV-RNA genotype or with serum HCV-RNA load. Mul tiple logistic regression analysis showed that serum sFas levels before IFN therapy were a contributive factor to predict efficacy of IFN therapy. Con clusions: Serum sFas/sFas ligand and TNF-alpha play a possible role in path ogenesis of CH-C and also in IFN therapy. Serum sFas levels before IFN ther apy may be one of the host-related factors used for evaluating the response of CH-C patients to IFN therapy.