| Autor: |
Vecchiet J; Dept. of Medicine and Science of Aging, School of Medicine, G. d'Annunzio University, 66013 Chieti, Italy. jvecchiet@unich.it, Falasca K, Cacciatore P, Zingariello P, Dalessandro M, Marinopiccoli M, D'Amico E, Palazzi C, Petrarca C, Conti P, Pizzigallo E, Guagnano MT |
| Jazyk: |
angličtina |
| Zdroj: |
Annals of clinical and laboratory science [Ann Clin Lab Sci] 2005 Autumn; Vol. 35 (4), pp. 415-22. |
| Abstrakt: |
There is significant upregulation of interleukin-18 (IL-18) expression in viral infectious diseases and in some chronic hepatic diseases, especially (i) hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, (ii) HCV infection with persistently normal ALT levels (PNAL), and (iii) non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The aim of this study was a better understanding of the implications of plasma IL-18 levels in the above-mentioned liver diseases. Thirty-four patients with HCV infection, 13 with NAFLD, and 10 controls were enrolled. The HCV-RNA and HCV-genotypes and the serum or plasma levels of IL-18, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase (gamma-GT), alkaline phosphatase, total cholesterol, triglycerides, alpha(1)-fetoprotein, and ferritin were evaluated. Patients with HCV showed higher levels of IL-18 than the NAFLD patients (p <0.01) and the controls (p <0.005). Patients with NAFLD showed higher values of body mass index and liver disease parameters, compared to HCV-infected subjects or controls. These data confirm previous reports of enhanced expression of IL-18 in patients with HCV and NAFLD, compared to healthy subjects, and suggest that IL-18 is important as a marker of liver diseases. |
| Databáze: |
MEDLINE |
| Externí odkaz: |
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