The Interplay between Zinc, Vitamin D and, IL-17 in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C Liver Disease
Objectives. To assess zinc (Zn) and vitamin D (Vit. D) status in chronic Hepatitis C virus- (HCV) infected patients and their relationship to interleukin- (IL-) 17 and disease severity and then investigate whether Zn and Vit. D3 modulate IL-17 expression in chronic HCV patients. Methods. Seventy pat...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Hindawi Limited
2015-01-01
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| Series: | Journal of Immunology Research |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/846348 |
| Summary: | Objectives. To assess zinc (Zn) and vitamin D (Vit. D) status in chronic Hepatitis C virus- (HCV) infected patients and their relationship to interleukin- (IL-) 17 and disease severity and then investigate whether Zn and Vit. D3 modulate IL-17 expression in chronic HCV patients. Methods. Seventy patients and fifty healthy subjects were investigated. Serum levels of Zn, Vit. D, and IL-17 were assessed in the patients group and subgroups. Patients lymphocytes were activated in vitro in the presence or absence of Zn or Vit. D3 and then intracellular IL-17 production was assessed using flow cytometry. Results. Zn and Vit. D were significantly decreased in HCV patients. Increasing disease severity leads to more reduction in Zn level opposed by increasing IL-17 level. Zn potently reduced IL-17 production in a dose-related fashion; however it did not exert any toxic effects. Although Vit. D apparently increases IL17 expression, it is unclear whether it is due to its toxic effect on cell count or lack of definite association between Vit. D and both IL-17 and disease severity. Conclusions. This study demonstrates that Zn modulates IL-17 expression and provides a rationale for evaluating this compound as a supplementary agent in the treatment of chronic HCV. |
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| ISSN: | 2314-8861 2314-7156 |