Pivotal Role of Serum IL-37 In Patients with Chronic HBV and HCV

Interleukin-37 (IL-37) is an anti-inflammatory cytokine that has an intrinsic role in many diseases through its extracellular and intracellular mechanisms. It was found to be in high concentrations in chronic diseases. In this study, the concentration of IL-37 was measured in 62 patients with chronic hepatitis C and 65 patients with chronic hepatitis B with 38 individuals as Healthy group using ELISA to confirm that IL-37 can be used a biomarker for hepatitis chronic diseases. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to support this hypothesis. IL-37 levels were significantly higher in viral hepatitis patients (Hepatitis C virus and Hepatitis B virus) than in controls (92.28 ± 47.5, 83.1±43.44, 42.8±12.14 ng/L), respectively with p= 0.00001. The ROC curve showed that all hepatitis patients (HCV and HBV) could be distinguished from the control group according to their levels of IL-37 with an AUC value for HBV was 0.886, while for HCV was 0.955. In addition, the cut-off value for IL37 in patients suffer from HBV was 58.55 ng/L with a sensitivity of 80% and a specificity of 100 %, while the cut-off value for IL37 in HCV patients was 57.27 ng /L with a sensitivity of 90% and a specificity of 97%. This study concluded there was an increase in the IL-37 concentration in patients with chronic HBV and HCV.