Sj. Polyak et al., Elevated levels of interleukin-8 in serum are associated with hepatitis C virus infection and resistance to interferon therapy, J VIROLOGY, 75(13), 2001, pp. 6209-6211
Hepatitis C virus (HCV), a major cause of liver disease worldwide, is frequ
ently resistant to the antiviral alpha interferon (IFN). We have recently f
ound that the HCV NS5A protein induces expression of the proinflammatory ch
emokine IL-8 to partially inhibit the antiviral actions of IFN in vitro. To
extend these observations, in the present study we examined the relationsh
ip between levels of IL-8 in serum, HCV infection, and biochemical response
to IFN therapy. Levels of IL-8 were significantly elevated in 132 HCV-infe
cted patients compared to levels in 32 normal healthy subjects and were als
o significantly higher in patients who did not respond to IFN therapy than
in patients who did respond to therapy. This study suggests that HCV-induce
d changes in levels of chemokine and cytokine expression may be involved in
HCV antiviral resistance, persistence, and pathogenesis.