[The role of interleukin-6 and nitric oxide in pathogenesis of portal hypertension and decompensation of liver cirrhosis].

The study included 49 patients (29 men and 20 women) aged 23-65 years with liver cirrhosis (LC) and 12 (7 men and 5 women) with chronic hepatitis (CH). Etiological factors of LC were hepatitis B and C viruses (in 22 and 16 patients respectively) and alcohol (n=11). Patients with LC showed high levels of blood nitrates and their impaired urinary excretion. In patients with class A LC, nitric oxide levels tended to increase while in those with class B and C LC they were significantly higher than normal. Correlaion analysis revealed the strong dependence of blood nitric oxide level on portal blood flow, hepatic congestion index, the presence of ascitis, and the degree of varicose dilation of oesophageal veins. It also correlated with the serum IL-6 level that increased with deterioration of hepatic function. Patients with class C LC had high IL-6 levels than those with class A and B LC.

[Cell immunity and hepatocyte apoptosis in chronic cholestatic hepatitis].

The aim of the study was to evaluate activity and accumulation of natural T-killers (NK-cells, CD16+) and lymphocytes with apoptosis marker (CD95+) in peripheral blood and hepatic tissue of patients with chronic viral hepatitis, in connection with presence or absence of cholestasis. The subjects were 14 patients suffering from chronic hepatitis (CH) without cholestasis, and 16--with CH and cholestasis, aged 18 to 56 years. The study revealed significant elevation of the number of NK-cells in hepatic tissue of CH patients with cholestasis, not only vs. controls, but also vs. CH patients without cholestasis. Accumulation of natural T-killers in hepatic tissues was accompanied by reduction of their absolute number in peripheral blood and increase of the number of apoptotic bodies in the liver. There was a positive correlation between parameters of apoptosis of hepatocytes, on the one part, and the number of regenerating hepatocytes and serum indicators of cholestasis, on the other.