Abstract
The current study was designed to investigate the potential association of serum interleukin-10 and interleukin-12 with HCV infection in chronic liver disease and to evaluate their possible role as new biomarkers in HCC development. Material and Methods. Forty-one patients suffering from chronic liver disease (33 patients harbor HCV infection and 8 are HCV-negative patients) were enrolled in the present study and histopathologically diagnosed into 15 patients with HCC, 16 patients with LC, and 10 patients with liver histology compatible with precirrhotic hepatitis (PCH). Ten patients complaining of cholecystitis were included as nondisease control. Serum levels of IL-10 and IL-12 were measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results. HCV-infected patients showed elevated expression of IL-10 and IL-12 compared to nondisease controls (P < 0.0001) but there is no significant difference with respect to their expression in HCV-negative patients. Serum IL-10 and IL-12 were elevated significantly with disease progression (P < 0.0001) and a positive correlation coefficient was detected between IL-10, IL-12 (r = 0.785, P < 0.0001), and transaminase values suggesting their possible role in chronic inflammation progression leading to HCC. Conclusion. IL-10 and IL-12 might be involved in chronic inflammation progression leading to HCC and their evaluation could be used as new biomarkers to reflect the degree of inflammation in HCC development.