بررسي سطح سرمي اينترلوكين 12 در بيماران مبتلا به عفونت نهفته هپاتيت B (گزارش كوتاه)

Evaluation of serum level of IL-12 in patients with occult HB V infection

Background and purpose: Occult hepatitis B infection (OBI) is a form of hepatitis in which despite the absence of detectable HBsAg, HBV-DNA is present in peripheral blood of patients. Investigators believed that the genetics and immunological parameters may be different in resistant individuals and patients. Cytokines, such as IL-12, could be leading to alteration in viral immune response. The main aim of this study was to investigate the serum level of IL12 in OBI patients. Materials and methods: In this study, the plasma samples of 3700 HBsAg negative blood donors were tested for anti-HBs by ELISA. The HBsAg negative and anti-HBc positive samples were selected and screened for HBV-DNA by PCR. HBV-DNA positive samples were assigned as OBI cases and ELISA technique were performed to examine the serum level of IL-12 in OBI and 100 healthy controls. Results: Our results showed that there was no significant difference in serum level of IL-12 between OBI patients and controls. Conclusion: In order to be clear of viruses, L-12 is increased in viral infection. Based on the results of this study, it is concluded that OBI patients can not produce enough IL-12 to clear HBV.