Background Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is one of the major causes of liver cirrhosis and liver carcinoma. Studies have indicated that an imbalance of cytokine activities could contribute to the pathogenesis of chronic HCV infection. This study aimed to investigate serum levels and gene expression of cytokines (IL-6, TNF-α and TGF-β1) in chronic HCV infection among Malay male subjects. Methods Thirty-nine subjects were enrolled from various health clinics in Kelantan, Malaysia, and divided into two groups: patients with chronic HCV infection (HP) and healthy control (HS). The serum cytokines IL-6, TNF-a—were measured using Luminex assay, and serum TGF-β1 was measured by ELISA. The mRNA gene expression for IL-6, TNF-α and TGF-β1 was measured by real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Results There were statistically significant differences in the mean serum levels of IL-6, and TGF-β1 in HP compared to HS group (p = 0.0180 and p = 0.0005, respectively). There was no significant difference in the mean serum level of TNF-α in HP compared to HS group. The gene expression for the studied cytokines showed no significant differences in HP compared to HS group. Conclusion Serum IL-6 was significantly associated with chronic HCV infection.

Cytokines play an important role in modulating inflammation during viral infection, including hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Genetic polymorphisms of cytokines can alter the immune response against this infection. The objective of this study was to investigate the possible association between chronic hepatitis C virus infection susceptibility and cytokine gene polymorphism for interleukin-10 (IL-10) rs1800896 and rs1800871, interleukin 6 (IL-6) rs1800795, TNF-α rs1800629, and TGF-β1 rs1800471 in Malay male drug abusers. The study was conducted on 76 HCV-positive (HP) male drug abusers and 40 controls (HCV-negative male drug abusers). We found that there were significant differences in the frequencies of genotype for IL-10 rs1800871 (p = 0.0386) and at the allelic level for IL-10 rs1800896 A versus G allele (p = 0.0142) between the HP group and the control group. However, there were no significant differences in gene polymorphism in interleukin 6 rs1800795, TNF-α rs1800629 and TGF-β1 rs1800471. These findings suggest significant associations between gene polymorphism for IL-10 rs1800871, IL-10 rs1800896 (at the allelic level) and susceptibility to HCV infection among Malay male drug abusers.

Introduction: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection frequently leads to liver complications, such as fibrosis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. The incidence of HCV infection transmission among drug abusers is concerning. Interleukin-1β (IL-1β ) is a pro-inflammatory cytokine secreted during innate and adaptive immune responses and plays a pivotal role in chronic inflammatory diseases. Functional single nucleotide polymorphisms in IL-1β cause it to play different roles in disease susceptibility and progression. This study aimed to investigate the association between genetic polymorphisms of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β ) and HCV infection susceptibility in Malay male drug abusers. Methods: In total, 48 male Malay drug abusers were included in this retrospective case-control study. Genomic DNA was extracted from whole blood samples and analyzed using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) for the IL-1β rs16944 and rs1143634 polymorphisms. Results: Analysis of IL-1β rs1143634 revealed that the C/C genotype was common in both the case and control groups; however, no statistical significance was observed (p = 0.068, χ 2 = 3.755). Genotyping of IL-1β demonstrated that all samples were of the homozygous mutant type (T/T). Conclusion: There was no association between IL-1β polymorphism (rs1143634 and rs16944) and hepatitis C infection susceptibility among Malay male drug abusers.