Serum level of interferon-λ3 in patients with chronic hepatitis B and its clinical significance

Objective To investigate the serum level of interferon-λ3 ( IFN-λ3) and its clinical significance in patients with chronic hepatitis B ( CHB) , as well as its association with nucleos ( t) ide analogue ( NA) treatment. Methods A total of 119 CHB patients who were treated in The Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University from January 2017 to May 2018 were enrolled, and 22 HBsAg-negative individuals who underwent physical examination were enrolled as healthy control group. ELISA was used to measure the serum level of IFN-λ3, which was compared between CHB patients and healthy individuals. The association between serum IFN-λ3 level and HBeAg in CHB patients was analyzed; serum IFN-λ3 level was compared between the patients treated with different NAs; the influence of NAs on the level of IFN-λ3 in the supernatant of peripheral blood mononuclear cells ( PBMCs) was analyzed. An analysis of variance was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data with homogeneity of variance between multiple groups; the Wilcoxon rank-sum test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data or continuous data with heterogeneity of variance between two groups, the Kruskal-Wallis H test was used for comparison between multiple groups, and the Nemenyi test was used for further comparison between two groups. A Spearman correlation analysis was also performed. Results The CHB group had a significantly lower serum IFN-λ3 level than the healthy control group [14. 7 ( 5. 9-28. 5) pg/ml vs 76. 1 ( 39. 4-112. 0) pg/ml, Z =-10. 114, P < 0. 001]. In the CHB patients who did not receive antiviral therapy, serum IFN-λ3 level was negatively correlated with log HBV DNA ( r =-0. 621, P < 0. 001) . The HBeAg-negative CHB patients had a significantly higher serum IFN-λ3 level than the HBeAg-positive CHB patients [16. 4 ( 9. 0-31. 3) pg/ml vs 8. 7 ( 2. 9-23. 2) pg/ml, Z =-2. 205, P = 0. 02]. The patients who received antiviral therapy with adefovir dipivoxil had a significantly higher serum IFN-λ3 level than those who were treated with entecavir, tenofovir, telbivudine, or lamivudine ( P < 0. 05) . In vitro experiment showed that there was no significant increase in serum IFN-λ3 level in the supernatant of PBMCs treated with NAs. Conclusion CHB patients have a significantly lower serum IFN-λ3 level than healthy individuals, and the CHB patients receiving antiviral therapy with adefovir dipivoxil have a relatively high serum IFN-λ3 level.