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Increased plasma interleukin‐8 concentrations in alcoholic hepatitis
Author(s) -
Hill Daniel L. B.,
Marsano Luis S.,
McClain Craig J.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
hepatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.488
H-Index - 361
eISSN - 1527-3350
pISSN - 0270-9139
DOI - 10.1002/hep.1840180316
Subject(s) - neutrophilia , alcoholic hepatitis , medicine , hepatitis , alcoholic liver disease , cytokine , interleukin , infiltration (hvac) , interleukin 8 , immunology , gastroenterology , endocrinology , cirrhosis , physics , thermodynamics
Patients with alcoholic hepatitis often have hepatic polymorphonuclear leukocyte infiltration and neutrophilia. Interleukin‐8 is a cytokine that stimulates neutrophil chemotaxis and release of lysosomal enzymes. It is made by several types of cells, including fibroblasts, Kupffer cells and hepatocytes. In this study, serial plasma interleukin‐8 concentrations were measured with enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay in 40 consecutive patients with moderate‐to‐severe alcoholic hepatitis over a 6‐mo period. Two control groups included 10 patients without clinically important liver disease admitted for treatment of alcohol dependence and 12 healthy male volunteers. The mean plasma interleukin‐8 level on admission was markedly increased: 695 ± 146 pg/ml in the alcoholic hepatitis patients. The alcohol‐dependent control group and the normal volunteer controls had mean interleukin‐8 concentrations of 106 ± 28 pg/ml and 10 ± 5 pg/ml, respectively. Initially increased interleukin‐8 levels in alcoholic hepatitis patients decreased to a meals of 182 ± 42 pg/ml over the first month; levels had decreased further to 124 ± 79 pg/ml after 6 mo. Increased interleukin‐8 concentrations in patients with alcoholic hepatitis suggest a role for interleukin‐8 in the neutrophilia and hepatic polymorphonuclear leukocyte infiltration of alcoholic hepatitis. (HEPATOLOGY 1993;18:576–580.)