Evaluation of the Inflammatory Cytokines and IL-10 Network in Individuals Co-infected With Human T-Cell Lymphotropic Virus and Hepatitis C Virus (HTLV/HCV).

BACKGROUND: Co-infection between the human T-cell lymphotropic virus (HTLV) and the hepatitis C virus (HCV) can modify the natural history of HCV infection. The aim of this study was to describe the inflammatory cytokines and IL-10 network in patients co-infected with HTLV and HCV viruses in Bahia, Brazil. METHODS: Samples from 31 HTLV/HCV co-infected individuals and 27 HCV monoinfected individuals were evaluated. IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-10, IL-8, and IL-1 cytokines were quantified by ELISA. Clinical, laboratory data were obtained from patient records. Serum levels of the cytokines were log10-transformed and data mining was performed using Z-score statistics and correlation analysis. RESULTS: Co-infected individuals presented a tendency toward higher production of INF-γ compared to the HCV monoinfected group. Regarding cytokine pairs, there was a positive correlation (P-value < 0.05) between IL-1 and IL-8 in the HTLV/HCV co-infected group and uninfected controls, and two correlations in the HCV mono-infected group IL-8 - IL10 and IL- INF-γ - IL-10 pairs. There was no significant difference between the groups for the other parameters analyzed. CONCLUSION: The results presented herein indicated that HTLV/HCV co-infection was associated with a trend in IFN-γ production while HCV-infected individuals presented a positive correlation with both inflammatory cytokines (IL-8 and IFN-γ) and the regulatory cytokine IL-10.

HCV/HTLV coinfection: Does HTLV-1 interfere in the natural history of HCV-related diseases?

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) coinfection occurs in many regions. However, few studies have focused on the natural history of HCV-induced liver disease in coinfected patients. To describe the clinical, epidemiological, and histopathological aspects of HTLV-1/HCV coinfection in Brazil. A cross-sectional study with 23 patients coinfected with HCV/HTLV. The control groups consisted of 21 patients monoinfected with HCV and 20 patients monoinfected with HTLV-1. The cytokine profiles (Th1 and Th2 cell responses), clinical, laboratory features, and histopathological aspects were examined. The control group for cytokine analysis validation consisted of patients monoinfected with HTLV, and a fourth group consisted of healthy blood donors. No anthropometric differences present between the three infected groups. We observed higher serum concentrations of IFN-γ in patients coinfected with HCV/HTLV-1 than those in HCV monoinfected patients. The HCV/HTLV-1 coinfected group also exhibited a higher degree of liver steatosis than the HCV monoinfected patients. Results suggest that HCV/HTLV-1 coinfection may result in a different pattern of HCV infection due to the immunologic disorders likely associated with HTLV-1, but there is no clear evidence of the HTLV role in the natural history of HCV infection. J. Med. Virol. 88:1967-1972, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Qualidade de vida em pacientes portadores do vírus C da hepatite em diferentes fases do estadiamento da doença / Quality of life in patients with the hepatitis C virus at different stages of the disease staging

Objetivo: avaliar a qualidade de vida entre pacientes com diagnóstico de hepatite crônica pelo vírus C em diferentes fases do estadiamento da doença e indivíduos sem esta infecção participantes de um grupo de convivência, no município de Ipiaú - Bahia. Métodos: trata-se de um estudo de corte transversal comparativo e com abordagem quantitativa. A coleta dos dados foi realizada por meio do questionário SF-36, na Unidade Básica de Saúde Dr. Elvídio Antônio dos Santos (CNES 4026527) no município de Ipiaú - Bahia, logo após aprovação pelo Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa e pela Secretaria de Saúde do município. Para a análise estatística, as variáveis avaliadas foram codificadas e armazenadas em um banco de dados. As estatísticas descritivas para as variáveis quantitativas foram descritas em médias e desvios-padrão. Todas as análises foram conduzidas no software IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS®, Chicago, IL, EUA) 20.0 e no R (R Development Core Team, 2014), versão 3.1.1. Resultados: a amostra total do estudo foi composta por 50 participantes, sendo que 27 foram alocados no grupo hepatite C. Desse total, 10 participantes estavam em terapia medicamentosa dupla, nove não responderam à terapia medicamentosa e oito haviam negativado o vírus, há pouco mais de seis meses. Outros 23 participantes foram alocados no grupo de comparação. Observou-se, no grupo hepatite C, que os domínios que obtiveram os menores escores foram limitação por aspectos físicos e estado geral de saúde, enquanto que a melhor média foi para o domínio saúde mental. No grupo de comparação, os domínios que apresentaram os melhores escores foram: limitações por aspectos físicos, aspectos sociais e limitações por aspectos emocionais. Conclusões: os participantes do grupo hepatite C, especialmente aqueles que estavam em tratamento medicamentoso, parecem apresentar maior comprometimento da qualidade de vida, já que foi possível observar escores mais reduzidos nas avaliações, quando comparados aos participantes do grupo de comparação.

Objectives: to evaluate the quality of life among patients with chronic hepatitis C virus at different stages of disease staging and patients without this infection participants in a support group in the city of Ipiaú - Bahia. Methods: this is a comparative cross-sectional study and a quantitative approach. Data collection was performed by the SF-36 questionnaire, the Basic Health Unit Dr. Elvídio Antonio dos Santos (CNES 4,026,527) in the municipality of Ipiaú - Bahia, after approval by the Research Ethics Committee and by the Health Department the municipality. For statistical analysis, the variables were coded and stored in a database. The descriptive statistics for quantitative variables were described as means and standard deviations. All analyzes were conducted on IBM software Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS®, Chicago, IL, USA) 20.0 and R (R Development Core Team, 2014), version 3.1.1. Results: the total study sample consisted of 50 participants, and 27 participants were allocated to group hepatitis C. Of these, 10 participants were double-drug therapy, nine did not respond to drug therapy, and eight had negated the virus, there little more than six months. Another 23 participants were allocated to the comparison group. It was observed in the hepatitis C group, the domain that obtained the lowest scores were limitations due to physical aspects and general health, while the highest average was for the mental health domain. In the comparison group, the areas that showed the best scores were: limitations on physical aspects, social aspects and limitations due to emotional problems. Conclusions: participants of the hepatitis C group, especially those who were in drug treatment, appear to have greater impairment in quality of life, as we observed lower scores in the ratings compared to participants in the comparison group.