Cytokine profiles and virological markers highlight distinctive immune statuses, and effectivenesses and limitations of antiviral therapies across different courses of chronic HBV infection

Abstract Background The characteristics of cytokine/chemokine (CK) profiles across different courses of chronic hepatitis B virus infection and the effects of antiviral therapies on cytokine profiles remain unclear. Methods This report provides evidence from 427 patients with chronic HBV infection. The Luminex multiple cytokine detection technology was used to detect CK profiles. The predictive power of CKs across different courses of chronic HBV infection was assessed using univariate analyses and with receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Results Compared to chronic HBV carriers (CHC), expression levels of IL-21, IL-23, IL-33 and CXCL10 increased while IFN-γ did not change significantly in chronic hepatitis B (CHB). IL-8 increased in those with liver cirrhosis (LC). Whereas, myeloid-related markers decreased dramatically in those with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The predictive results suggest that combining IL-6, IL-8, CXCL9 and CXCL11 into a nomogram could generate an accurate HCC risk based on LC status. In addition, the Spearman correlation coefficient suggested that CKs negatively correlate with serological and virological indicators, although they did positively correlate with one another. Antiviral treatments are capable of recovering normal liver functions and significantly reducing the viral load, however, they seem to have a limited effect in changing CKs, especially specific antiviral factors. Conclusions Variations in CKs and in virological markers might be used to determined distinct immune statuses. They might also highlight different levels of effectiveness and the limitations of antiviral treatments. This next step would to break new ground in the optimization of current anti-HBV treatment programs although this requires further research.