TY  - EJOU
AU  - Sosa-Jurado, Francisca 
AU  - Sa´nchez-Reza, Laura 
AU  - Mendoza-Torres, Miguel A´ ngel 
AU  - Mele´ndez-Mena, Daniel 
AU  - Garc´ıa, V´ıctor Hugo  y 
AU  - Guzma´n-Flores, Belinda 
AU  - Enciso-Moreno, Jose´ Antonio 
AU  - Lo´pez-Ramos, Juan Ernesto 
AU  - Balandra´n, Juan Carlos 
AU  - Vallejo-Ruiz, Vero´nica 
AU  - Cortes-Herna´ndez, Paulina 
AU  - Reyes-Leyva, Julio 
AU  - Santos-Lo´pez, Gerardo 

TI  - Serum Th17 and TNF-α distinguish between patients with occult hepatitis B infection, chronic hepatitis B infection and healthy individuals
T2  - European Cytokine Network

PY  - 2021
VL  - 32
IS  - 2
SN  - 1952-4005

AB  - Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) is classified into five phases based on virus-host interactions: immune tolerance, immune clearance, inactive carrier state, reactive phase and occult hepatitis B infection (OBI). OBI is an uncommon asymptomatic phase of CHB that can be reactivated when the immune system is compromised, occasionally giving rise to severe liver disease. Host immune factors play essential roles in all phases of the CHB infection. Cytokines may alter infection course, influencing the propensity for and the progression of CHB and thus warrant study. Three clinical groups were studied: 48 healthy individuals (HI), 28 patients with persistent positive anti-HBc serological markers and negative HBsAg over time, who were diagnosed as OBI and 12 patients with active CHB. OBI patients were defined by three independent detections of the hepatitis B virus genome through nested PCR and real-time PCR. Quantitative measurement of 20 Th1, Th2 and Th17 human cytokines was performed in the sera of HI, OBI and CHB patients. Levels of IFN-γ, TNF-β, IL-28A, IL-4, IL-5, IL-13, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-21, IL-22, IL-23, GM-CSF and MIP-3α were similar between groups. IL-2, IL-12p70, IL-10, IL-17F and TGF-β1 were similar in HI and OBI, but higher in CHB. TNF-α and the IL-17A:IL-17F ratio were significantly different between the three groups. TNF-α was progressively higher in HI, OBI and CHB (P = 0.004), while the IL-17A:IL-17F ratio was 1.1 in HI, 3.4 in OBI and 0.4 in CHB. Detection and levels of these pro-inflammatory cytokines in OBI patients suggest that they are undergoing a silent hepatic inflammatory process.
KW  - hepatitis B virus
KW  -  cytokines
KW  -  hepatitis B virus-DNA
KW  -  hepatitis B surface antigen
KW  -  hepatitis B core antibody
KW  -  nested PCR
KW  -  real-time PCR

DO  - 10.1684/ecn.2021.0466