Changes of the serum level of IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) in the patients with type C chronic hepatitis during interferon therapy

Serum level of interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) before and during interferon (IFN) therapy was measured by sandwich ELISA. Serum IL-1ra level was significantly increased in chronic hepatitis C (CH-C) patients as compared with healthy control subjects. There was no significant correlation between serum IL-1ra and ALT level. In CHC patients, IFN treatment elevated serum IL-1ra level significantly in 2 weeks after start of the treatment. The alteration of serum IL-1ra level during treatment of IFN was compared between complete responders (CR), in whom hepatitis C virus (HCV) was eradicated, transient responders (TR), whose ALT levels transiently decreased during the treatment, and relapsed and non-responders (NR), in whom the virus was not eradicated. In TR or NR, the level in 2 weeks after the start of treatment is significantly higher than that before the treatment and in 3 months after its start. In CR, however, this transient elevation of IL-1ra level was not observed. These changes of serum IL-1ra during IFN therapy might reflect the immunological or inflammatory changes of IFN-treated CHC patients and influence the efficacy of IFN therapy.