The Interplay between Zinc, Vitamin D and, IL-17 in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C Liver Disease

Abstract

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.

Levels of Interleukin-17 and Vitamin D and Their Correlation in Viral Hepatitis Patients

“…Similar to this result, the reported mean of vitamin D by [19] of HBV patients were lower than the reported mean of vitamin D by [20] of HCV patients, both in Egypt.…”

Associations between Zinc Deficiency and Metabolic Abnormalities in Patients with Chronic Liver Disease

“…A previous study elucidated that significant correlations between serum Zn and vitamin A or retinol-binding protein (RBP) levels were found in patients with liver cirrhosis [ 112 ]. Zn deficiency seems to impair the synthesis of RBP [ 7 , 121 , 122 ]. Therefore, the authors speculated that Zn deficiency might result in portosystemic shunting, and subsequent vitamin A deficiency by decreasing the release of RBP in such patients [ 112 ].…”

Immunological dynamics associated with rapid virological response during the early phase of type I interferon therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C

“…Instead, there have been contradictory results to our current study. IL-17A has been implicated in the host defense against microbial pathogens but is also associated with inflammatory disorders when produced in excess [ 30 , 41 ], and the cytokine levels were correlated with serum ALT levels or viral copy numbers in CHC patients [ 21 , 42 ]. However, IL-17A was not significantly elevated in CHC patients when compared to the healthy control group in other studies [ 28 , 43 ].…”