Effects of interferon-alpha on expression of hepatic stellate cell and transforming growth factor-pi and a-smooth muscle actin in rats with hepatic fibrosis

AIM:To investigate the effect of interferon-a (IFN-α) on preventing or reversing hepatic fibrosis in rat experimental model induced by CCI4. METHODS: One hundred and ten Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into five groups: group A (normal controls, n = 18), group B (fibrotic model controls, n = 22), group C (IFN-α prevention, n = 22) initially treated with intramuscular injection of IFN-a in saline daily at the doses of 1× 105 U for 6 wk, group D (IFN-a treatment, n = 24) treated with intra-muscular injection of IFN-a in saline daily at the doses of 1×105 U for 6 wk after the first 6 wk, group E (0.9% sodium chloride treatment control, n = 24) treated with intra-muscular injection of 0.01 mL/kg daily for 6 wk after the first 6 wk. At the end of the experiment, all rats of each group were killed. Samples of the liver obtained by biopsy were subjected to histological, immunohistochemical and electron microscopic studies for the expressions of transforming growth factor-pi (TGF- μ41) and α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA). RESULTS: The expressions of TGF-pl, the number of activated hepatic stellate cells and a-SMA in hepatic tissue of group C were significantly less than those of group B (P<0.01). The degree of fibrosis score in group B was also significantly less than that of group C under light microscope (P<0.01). CONCLUSION: IFN-a can inhibit the production of TGF-pl, decrease HSC activation and stimulate its apoptosis.

EFFECTS OF IFN-a COMBINED WITH IL-6 ON GROWTH AND EXPRESSION OF THE GENES RELATED TO CELL-GROWTH AND APOPTOSIS OF BONE MARROW CELLS FROM PATIENTS WITH CML

Objective:To investigate the effects of interferon-a (IFN-a) and IFN-a combined with interleukin-6 (IL-6) on growth and expression of bcr-abl, bcl-2 and c--myc genes in the mononuclear cells (MNCs) from bone marrow (BM) of patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). Methods: MNCs were collected from BM of the patients with CML in chronic phase by centrifugation in lymphocyte separation medium and cultured in liquid with IFN-a (200U/ml) or IFN-a (200U/ml) plus IL-6 (100 ng/ml). The growing cells were counted every day. The expression levels of b-actin, bcr-abl, bcl-2 and c-myc genes in the MNCs incubated for 24 h were detected by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and relatively quantitative analysis of the amplified fragments by optical density scanning for the bands on gel. Results: The cell growth was markedly suppressed by IFN-a but the degree of cell-growth inhibition was slightly decreased by IL-6 on the basis of IFN-a effect. The expression of bcr-abl chimeric gene was intensely inhibited by IFN-a or IFN-a plus IL-6. The expression of bcl-2 gene was suppressed by either IFN-a or IFN-a plus IL-6, whereas that of c-myc gene was also inhibited by IFN-a but strongly elevated by IL-6 on the basis of IFN-a action. Conclusions: Both IFN-a and IFN-a plus IL-6 can inhibit the expression of anti-apoptosis gene such as bcr-abl and bcl-2 and regulate the expression of the cs.hn.cn gene related to cell proliferation and differentiation such as c-myc. Either IFN-a or IFN-a combined with IL-6 will serve as a trustful strategy of clinical treatment for CML.

Gene polymorphisms of interleukin-28, p21-activated protein kinases 4, and response to interferon-α based therapy in Chinese patients with chronic hepatitis B

Background Peg-lnterferon-a treatment is expensive and associated with considerable adverse effects, selection of patients with the highest probability of response is essential for clinical practice. The objective of this study was to assess the relationship between the gene polymorphisms of interleukin-28 （IL-28）, p21-activated protein kinase 4 （PAK4） and the response to interferon treatment in chronic hepatitis B patients. Methods Two hundred and forty interferon-naive treatment HBeAg seropositive chronic hepatitis B patients were enrolled in the present prospective nested case-control study. Peripheral blood samples were collected, including 92 with favorable response and 148 without response to the interferon treatment. Rs8099917, rs12980602, and rs9676717 SNP was genotyped using matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry （MALDI-TOF MS）. Results IL-28 genotype was not associated with response to interferon treatment （OR for GT/GG vs. TT, 0.881 （95% CI 0.388-2.002）; P=0.762; OR for CT/CC vs. TT, 0.902 （95% CI 0.458-1.778）; P=-0.766）. Rs9676717 in PAK4 genotype was independently associated with the response （OR for CT/CC vs. TT, 0.524 （95% CI 0.310-0.888）; P=0.016）. When adjusting for age, gender, smoking, drinking, levels of hepatitis B virus DNA, and alanine aminotransferase （ALT）, rs9676717 genotype TT appeared to be associated with a higher probability of response for interferon treatment （OR, 0.155 （95% CI 0.034-0.700）; P=0.015）. Conclusion Genotype TTfor rs9676717 in PAK4 gene and no drinking may be predictive of the interferon-a treatment success.

Disturbed gut virome with potent interferonogenic property in systemic lupus erythematosus

Accumulating evidence suggests an essential role of disturbed gut microbiota in the etiopathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE),but it remains unclear as to gut virome.In this study,fecal virus-like particles(VLPs)isolated from 76 non-treated SLE patients and 75 healthy controls were subjected to gut virome profiling.The proportion of bacteriophages was significantly elevated in the SLE gut,and the altered viral taxa were correlated with clinical parameters.Gut virome and bacteriome were closely associated with each other in SLE patients.The combination of gut viral and bacterial markers displayed better performance in distinguishing SLE patients from healthy controls.Further,VLPs from non-treated SLE patients promoted interferon-a production in an epithelial cell line and human immune cells.Intriguingly,the interferon-stimulatory capacity diminished in VLPs from post-treated SLE patients.Our findings may shed novel insights into SLE pathogenesis.Further in-depth understanding of gut virome might help develop future biomarkers and therapeutics for SLE patients.