Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:P05231 (interleukin-6)
23,907 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

A case-control study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) in the treatment of Chinese patients with chronic hepatitis C. Patients who failed to have sustained responses to interferon (IFN) therapy, refused to take IFN or were unsuitable for IFN treatment were enrolled into this study. The treatment group had 15 patients and they received UDCA 600 mg orally per day for 6 months. Another 15 patients with matched sex, age and initial serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels were chosen as the control group. Three parameters (i.e. serum ALT levels, serum hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA and serum cytokines) were measured before and after UDCA treatment. After the treatment period, the mean serum ALT levels in both groups were not significantly different (153.8 +/- 111.0 U/L vs 112.1 +/- 53.8 U/L, P > 0.05) and mean serum ALT level in the UDCA-treated group did not decrease after the treatment (pre-treatment vs post-treatment value: 139.1 +/- 73.1 U/L vs 153.8 +/- 111.0 U/L, P > 0.05). In addition, all of the patients with positive HCV RNA before treatment still had active HCV viraemia after the UDCA treatment. Also, the serum levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and the tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) were not significantly different between the two groups before and after the treatment period. In conclusion, a regimen of UDCA as prescribed in the present study did not show obvious benefits in the treatment of Chinese patients with chronic hepatitis C.
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PMID:Efficacy of ursodeoxycholic acid in the treatment of patients with chronic hepatitis C. 852 10

To assess whether the initial status of lipid metabolism in patients with chronic viral hepatitis might correlate with outcome of therapy, 52 patients (32 males and 20 female) with chronic hepatitis C were studied: 44 were treated with human recombinant interferon-alpha 2b (3 MU three times per week for up to 12 months), and 8 served as controls. At baseline, sera were tested for total and HDL cholesterol, HDL2, HDL3, apolipoprotein A-I, apolipoprotein B, interferon-alpha, tumor necrosis factor, and interleukin-6. Changes in blood lipids were evaluated after 3, 30, and 90 days of treatment. HDL cholesterol, apolipoprotein A-I, and HDL3 decreased by 9.4-11.4% within 4 weeks of starting interferon treatment, but this effect was sustained only in patients with a primary response to interferon. On multivariate analysis, a primary response to interferon correlated with higher apolipoprotein A-I and lower (< 2.23 pg/ml) interleukin-6 levels (p < 0.005 for both). In contrast, a sustained response was significantly more common in patients with low (< or = 13.3 pg/ml) serum interferon-alpha and lower interleukin-6 at baseline but did not correlate with any of the blood lipids. Thus, in chronic hepatitis C, interferon treatment induces specific changes in blood lipids. The concentration of apolipoprotein A-I at baseline is a strong predictor of primary response to treatment, and the likelihood of sustained response seems to be reflected by lower cytokine activation.
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PMID:Changes in blood lipid composition and response to interferon treatment in chronic hepatitis C. 852 43

We investigated short-term alterations in plasma interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta), and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) levels induced by interferon alfa (IFN-alpha) injection in 18 patients with chronic hepatitis C. A single intramuscular injection of human recombinant IFN-alpha 2a (6 million units [MU]) significantly increased the plasma IL-6 level 6 hours after the injection (P < .05). On the other hand, the IFN-alpha injection did not affect the plasma TNF-alpha and IL-lbeta levels. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis showed accumulation of IL-6 gene transcripts in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) after IFN-alpha injection, indicating that IFN-alpha enhances IL-6 production at the messenger RNA level. The induction of IL-6 by IFN-alpha was completely suppressed by the intravenous administration of gabexate mesilate (GM), a serine protease inhibitor. The mechanism whereby GM suppresses the elevation in circulating IL-6 levels seems to be the inhibition of IL-6 production at the messenger RNA level. Elevations of both serum C-reactive protein (CRP) levels and body temperature after GM-suppressed IFN-alpha injection suggest that the administration of GM by suppressing IL-6 production, may attenuate the IL-6-related responses induced by IFN-alpha injection. In conclusion, we found that IL-6 was induced by IFN-alpha in vivo, and that this induction was completely abrogated by the administration of GM. Our results indicate that serine protease inhibitors may be useful for inhibiting IL-6-relating responses.
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PMID:Induction of interleukin-6 by interferon alfa and its abrogation by a serine protease inhibitor in patients with chronic hepatitis C. 866 16

C-reactive protein (CRP) is a liver-specific acute-phase protein, and its expression in hepatocyte is regulated by cytokines such as interleukin-1, interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha. Although several alterations in cytokines have been found in patients with chronic viral hepatitis, it remains obscure how CRP expression is associated with progression of the disease in chronic viral infection. In the present study, CRP expression was evaluated in 45 patients with chronic hepatitis B and in 38 patients with chronic hepatitis C. By the immunohistochemical analysis, the intensity of CRP expression in hepatocyte was closely associated with the histology activity index (HAI) score in chronic hepatitis B. In contrast, the association was not found in chronic hepatitis C. When serial changes in serum levels of CRP were compared in long-term follow-up patients including 5 patients with chronic hepatitis B and 4 patients with chronic hepatitis C, serum levels of CRP fluctuated simultaneously with serum levels of alanine aminotransferase in chronic hepatitis B, whereas the correlation was not recognized in chronic hepatitis C. These results suggest that CRP expression correlates with progression of the disease in chronic hepatitis B, but not in chronic hepatitis C. It is also possible that cytokine-mediated response is more pronounced in chronic hepatitis B than in chronic hepatitis C.
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PMID:Comparative study of C-reactive protein in chronic hepatitis B and chronic hepatitis C. 872 11

The study attempts to evaluate the role of interleukin-6 (IL-6) in the pathogenesis of chronic hepatitis. We have used EIA sensitive methods to determine the serum concentration in patients with chronic active hepatitis of HB (+) (CAH-HE Ag+) antigen, with chronic active hepatitis of HB(-) (CAH-HBAg-) antigen and in those with persistent chronic hepatitis of HB(+) (CPH-HBAg+) antigen, compared with a group of controls (blood donors) in whom HBAgs, antiHBs, HBAge, antiHBe and anti HBc were absent. Disease status diagnosis was given in accordance with international conventions, immunologic tests included. The fact that the T lymphocytes with a CD56 are present in the liver and that same marker is also encountered on the Kuppfer cells, but not on the T lymphocytes in circulation, shows that in the liver the interleukin 6 is produced by the activated T lymphocytes and by the Kuppfer cells. Therefore, in such conditions, LB stimulation and growth is performed rather by IL-6 and to a lesser extent by IL-8. This statement is also supported by the finding that in the lymphocyte cultures in the peripheral blood there is no difference in the response to polyclonal mitogens between patients with CAH-HBAg(+) and those with CAH-HBAg(-). Also, there are no significant differences in the total immunoglobulin concentrations, but there are differences in the IgM concentration (greater in CAH-HBAg(+). In our investigations, the serum level of IL-6 (40.1 +/- 6.8 pg/ml) was higher in those with higher immunoglobulin concentrations-both IgG, but more particularly IgM. The IgM increase was correlated with the presence of HBAg. Therefore, the highest IL-6 values were found in CAH with HBAg(+). Increases of serum IL-6 concentrations were found during intervals of severe hepatic aggression manifested in a cytolitic syndrome, with transaminase increase. In the case of determinations in dynamics, the values decreased as the enzyme titre decreased. We can state that the serum activity of IL-6 reflects the degree of liver inflammation and can be used as a parameter for monitoring the disease.
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PMID:Immune mechanisms in the process of hepatopathies chronicization. Contribution and role of lymphokines. 889 81

In order to investigate whether a difference might exist in blood cholesterol and its subtractions between patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, serum cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides and common liver function tests were measured in 138 patients (92 male, 46 female) with biopsy-proven chronic viral hepatitis without cirrhosis. Twenty-four had hepatitis B and 114 hepatitis C. Mean serum cholesterol was lower in HCV-infected in comparison to HBV-infected patients (175 +/- 36 mg/dl vs. 189 +/- 28 mg/dl, p < 0.05). On multivariate analysis, etiology of hepatitis appeared to be associated with the value of serum cholesterol, independently of age, sex and liver synthetic function (improvement of chi-square 4.40, p < 0.05). In patients with HBV infection, circulating tumor necrosis factor-alpha demonstrated a correlation with serum triglycerides (p = 0.618) and an inverse correlation with serum HDL-cholesterol (p = -0.456); in the group of patients with HCV infection, interleukin-6 correlated with triglycerides (p = 0.370) and HDL-cholesterol (p = -0.355). Thus, differences in the mechanisms of liver damage and of viral clearance in hepatitis C in comparison to hepatitis B, reflected in these patients by the levels of circulating cytokines, may be mirrored by differences in their blood lipid composition.
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PMID:Blood lipids of patients with chronic hepatitis: differences related to viral etiology. 920 35

Serum levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) are elevated in acute and chronic hepatitis B patients. The effect of IL-6 and its transcription factor of NF-IL6 (a nuclear factor for IL-6) on hepatitis B virus (HBV) enhancer 1 (Enh1), which controls HBV X expression, were investigated in HepG2 cells. Twenty ng/ml of IL-6 increased 4-fold the enhancer activity of Enh1 according to the CAT assay. The IL-6 stimulation was abolished by introducing a mutation either in an AP-1-related site or a C-stretch sequence in the Enh1 sequence, demonstrating that the cis-elements are necessary for the IL-6 response. Co-transfection of NF-IL6 expression plasmid similarly increased the enhancer activity of Enh1 through both binding sites. Further, a specific complex formation of the Enh1 was detected using HepG2 nuclear lysates by electromobility shift assays, and the complex formation was increased in the lysates of cells treated with IL-6 and NF-IL6-transfection. In competition assays, one half of the complex formed was found to remain in the presence of 500-times excess competitor DNA fragment harboring NF-IL2 binding site, suggesting indirect binding of NF-IL6 to the Enh1 sequence. These results indicate that IL-6 increased the enhancer activity of HBV Enh1 through signal transduction pathways, indirectly involving NF-IL6, and may control HBV X expression and viral replication in HBV infected liver.
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PMID:Human hepatitis B virus enhancer 1 is responsive to human interleukin-6. 926 Jun 90

To compare virological, biochemical, and immune responses to human lymphoblastoid interferon (IFN-alpha) and human fibroblast interferon (IFN-beta) in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, 120 patients were randomly assigned to three groups (group A, 60 patients receiving IFN-alpha, 6 million units (MU) once a day, daily for one month and thrice weekly for five months; group B, 40 patients receiving 6 MU IFN-beta once a day daily for two months; and group C, 20 patients receiving 3 MU IFN-beta twice a day (6 MU/day) daily for two months). Serum soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Patients with sustained clearance of serum HCV RNA detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) at six months after IFN treatment were defined as having complete response to IFN treatment. A low level of HCV RNA (< or = 10(4) copies/50 microl, measured by competitive PCR) and HCV RNA of genotype 2a were favorable factors for a complete response to both IFNs. Complete response in group A treatment was strongly associated with early HCV RNA clearance, in contrast with group B. A significantly higher HCV RNA negativity at the second week from start of treatment was noted in group C (80.0%), compared with groups A (41.6%) and B (27.5%). sIL-2R levels rose in each group during IFN administration. In group C, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and IL-6 levels were remarkably elevated. These findings indicate that timing of serum HCV RNA negativity in sustained response differs between IFN-alpha and IFN-beta administrations and that early HCV RNA clearance was induced by twice-a-day IFN-beta treatment.
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PMID:Differences between interferon-alpha and -beta treatment for patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection. 1008 Jan 58

Sho-saiko-to (SST), a Chinese/Japanese herbal medicine (Kampo medicine) widely used to treat chronic hepatitis in Japan, is known to modulate immune responses, and thus its immunomodulating activity may be responsible for its bi-directional effects on the lungs as therapeutic efficacy in various lung diseases and involvement in development of interstitial pneumonia. We administered SST to BALB/c mice orally and examined the lung tissue levels of pro/anti-inflammatory cytokines, interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin-6 (IL-6), and the effects of SST on acute lung injury induced by instillation of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or IL-1. Although SST had no effect on lung TNF-alpha or IL-1beta level, it increased IL-6. Investigation of active fractions of SST suggested that multiple ingredients were supposed to be responsible for IL-6-inducing activity. Liquiritigenin, a metabolite of liquiritin which is one of the major ingredients in SST enhanced in vitro IL-6 production in anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody (anti-CD3 mAb)-stimulated lung mononuclear cells in a cell-type specific and dose-dependent manner. SST suppressed LPS-induced lung injury at the later phase when lung leak was evident while being ineffective on initial neutrophil sequestration to the lung in these models. These findings suggest that SST modulates lung inflammation by regulating local immune response.
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PMID:Modulation of lung local immune responses by oral administration of a herbal medicine Sho-saiko-to. 1072 53

Metallothioneins (MT) are ubiquitous found in eukaryotic organism. MT have a potential for metal-storage and protect the cells against stress. On the genomic level, proinflammatory cytokines like interleukin-6 and transition metals like copper cause induction of MT. Therefore, an estimation of MT in liver-biopsies from patients with different diseases probably could help in identifying acute-phase reactions and processes which lead to increased copper. We investigated paraffin embedded liver biopsies from 170 patients and 13 control biopsies from cases of sudden death. Tissue was stained with a primary antibody against MT and a peroxidase technique was used to make results visible. A grading was performed using an immunoreactive score (IRS from 0-24) and by computer-aided measurement of the optical density (OD) of the stained tissue slides. Patients with cholestasis (IRS: 12.1 +/- 2.8, n = 11), autoimmune (10.6 +/- 3.1, n = 7) or inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) (13.3 +/- 5.1, n = 4) and lymphoma (9.8 +/- 5.8, n = 21) showed marked increases in MT compared to the controls (5.2 +/- 2.8, n = 13). Patients with chronic hepatitis B or C or chronic alcoholic abuse had no elevation of MT. Furthermore, no correlation was found between histological damage and amount of MT except in cases of cholestasis, in which increased MT was observed. Results by OD confirmed the findings. In summary, we were able to demonstrate a clear increase of MT content in liver-biopsies in proinflammatory and cholestatic conditions. Marked elevation in patients with systemic diseases (like autoimmune-, IBD and lymphoma) seems to be best explained by an acute-phase induction of MT by proinflammatory cytokines. This could help in identifying these conditions in liver biopsies.
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PMID:Metallothionein in liver-biopsies from patients with different diseases. 1248 63


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