Research on expression of Toll-like receptors and IFN-α in HCV infected patients with different clinical outcomes / 中国热带医学

ABSTRACT

@#Abstract Objective To investigate the changes in expression of Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) and interferon-α (IFN-α) in patients with different clinical outcomes of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection treated with direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs), and to explore the relationship between the expression of TLR3 and IFN-α with the clinical outcomes of HCV infection. Methods A total of 149 HCV infected patients who received initial treatment were selected from Hainan General Hospital between September 2020 and August 2022. The patients were divided into two groups chronic hepatitis C (CHC) group (n=129) and liver cirrhosis (LC) group (n=20). Additionally, 28 volunteers were selected as the control group during the same period. All patients with HCV infection were first treated with Sofosbuvir/Vipatavir tablets for 12 weeks. Blood samples were collected at 0, 4, 12, 24 and 48 weeks after treatment. Liver function indicators were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), while TLR3 mRNA were detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRCR), IFN-α was detected by Luminex multiplex cytokine assays. Measurement data subject to normal distribution were represented by x±s, and t test was used between groups. Compare differences between groups. Results TLR3 mRNA in CHC group was higher than that in LC group and control group at baseline (P<0.05). After 4 weeks of DAAs treatment, TLR3 mRNA in CHC and LC groups was significantly up-regulated (P<0.05). TLR3 mRNA in the CHC group was gradually down-regulated to the level of the control group at 12, 24, and 48 weeks. In addition, IFN-α expression gradually increased with prolonged treatment, while it decreased in the LC group. The liver inflammation indicators in both the CHC and LC groups partially recovered after treatment with DAAs. Conclusions TLR3 is involved in viral clearance and chronic inflammatory response. The expression difference of TLR3 in patients with different clinical outcomes of HCV infection after DAAs treatment may be related to the severity of the disease.