Change of the host immune response during the early phase of interferon therapy correlates with its long-term efficacy for chronic hepatitis C

West immunomodulation through T cell action may play a pivotal role in dete rmining the response to interferon (IFN) therapy for chronic hepatitis C, W e examined whether the early changes in the host immune response were helpf ul in predicting the final effect in 31 patients with chronic hepatitis C r eceiving IFN. IFN treatment significantly reduced the serum levels of inter cellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and E-selectin, and significantly inc reased those of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) and interleukin- 2 receptor alpha (IL-2R alpha) in the first 7-10 days. Serum levels of thes e immunological parameters did not correlate with serum alanine aminotransf erase (ALT) when evaluated with either absolute values or relative values l over pre-treatment value), implying that our results are not just secondary to improvement in hepatic inflammation. The relative changes (Delta) in th ese parameters reflected the long-term response to IFN therapy, i.e. the lo wer the change, the more effective the therapy was. Among these serum param eters, Delta IL-2R alpha within the first 7-10 days of IFN treatment was th e most useful parameter in predicting the response to therapy. In conclusio n, a dynamic immunomodulation during the early phase of IFN therapy may det ermine the subsequent long-term response to IFN therapy. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.