Abstract
Background: Currently, about 2% of population are affected with hepatitis C worldwide, chronic hepatitis C (CHC) is the major cause of hepatic cirrhosis and referral for liver transplant. However, there is a high need for noninvasive methods for assessment of hepatocellular damage.
Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the strength of the association between adhesive molecules and inflammatory markers among hepatitis C virus Saudi patients.
Methods: One hundred patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection(64 males and 36 females, their age ranged from 28 to 53 years with circulating anti-HCV antibodies were equally categorized into two study groups: patients with CHC and patients with liver cirrhosis (LC). Also, one fifty healthy subjects were included as healthy controls. Serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), soluble intercellular adhesion molecule1 (sICAM-1); Soluble vascular adhesion molecule 1(sVCAM-1); Soluble E-selectin(s-E-selectin) and Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) were assayed for all participants. Results: We observed elevation with regard to the healthy controls group in the parameters of ALT, sICAM-1, sVCAM-1, s-E-selectin and TNF-alpha for patients with CHC and patients with liver cirrhosis (LC). Also, a significant positive correlation between serum TNF-alpha, sICAM-1, sVCAM-1 and ALT values was detected.
Conclusion: In conclusion, our results confirm that, in patients with chronic virus hepatitis and liver cirrhosis there is a significant positive correlation between serum TNF-alpha, sICAM-1, sVCAM-1 and ALT values. These findings suggest that serum TNF-alpha levels could be used as a sensitive predictor of liver inflammation, while serum ICAM-1 can be considered as a marker of hepatic necrosis and inflammatory activity in chronic hepatitis, while serum VCAM-1 is an indicator for the severity of liver cirrhosis.