Clinical significance of serum levels of IL-12, IL-18, TGF-β and TIMP-1 in patients with hepatitis B

Objective: To investigate the significance of L-12 and IL-18 in serum of the progression of hepatitis B, the relation of the levels of TGF-β₁, and TIMP-1 with liver cirrhosis, and explore the relation between the levels of these four cytokines. Methods: The levels of IL-12, IL-18, TGF-β₁ and TIMP-1 in serum were detected by ELISA. Results: The levels of IL-12, IL-18, TGF-β₁ and TIMP-1 differed significantly between hepatitis groups and the corresponding control groups (P<0.05). The level of IL-18, TIMP-1 and TGF-β₁ increased obviously with the progression of the disease (P<0.05), from chronic hepatitis (moderate) to chonic hepatitis (severe) to cirrhosis (clinical type). The correlational coefficient of TGF-β₁ with PC III, LN and IVC was 0.986, 0.998 and 0.925, respectively; that of TIMP-1 with PC III, LN and IVC was 0.921, 0.987 and 0.814. Conclusion: The levels of IL-12, IL-18, TGF-β₁ and TIMP-1 in serum have significant differences between hepatitis patients and the controls, and they are related with progression of the disease. TGF-β₁ and TIMP-1 have significant correlation with PC III, LN, and IVC.