Efficacy of Telbivudine in the Treatment of Chronic Hepatitis B and Liver Cirrhosis and Its Effect on Immunological Responses

• Published in: Journal of Huazhong University of Science and Technology. Medical sciences Vol. 35; no. 2; pp. 230 - 234
• Main Author: 孟楠 高潇 晏维 王密 刘萍 陆小丹 张淑娟 卢亚奇 唐望先
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Heidelberg Huazhong University of Science and Technology 01.04.2015; Institute of Liver Diseases, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China%Department of Internal Medicine, Liyuan Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology,Wuhan 430030, China
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Antiviral Agents - therapeutic use; Female; Hepatitis B, Chronic - drug therapy; Hepatitis B, Chronic - immunology; Humans; IL-10; Liver Cirrhosis - drug therapy; Liver Cirrhosis - immunology; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Thymidine - analogs & derivatives; Thymidine - therapeutic use; 免疫反应; 慢性乙型肝炎; 治疗效果; 生化反应; 白细胞介素-10; 肝硬化; 胶原蛋白; chronic hepatitis B; interferon-γ; telbivudine; interleukin-10; liver cirrhosis
• ISSN: 1672-0733; 1993-1352
• DOI: 10.1007/s11596-015-1416-3

This study was aimed to evaluate the long-term effects of telbivudine（Ld T） in the treatment of chronic hepatitis B（CHB） and HBV-related liver cirrhosis（LC） and to observe the changes of immunological responses during Ld T treatment. Clinical data of 80 CHB and 28 HBV-related LC patients who were administered with Ld T for 108 weeks and followed up were retrospectively analyzed. The liver function indicators including ALT, AST and γ-GT, HBV DNA copy number in serum and the rates of hepatitis B e antigen（HBe Ag） seroconversion were analyzed before and 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72, 84, 96 and 108 weeks after Ld T treatment in CHB and LC groups. Four serum fibrosis-related markers, including hyaluronic acid（HA）, human laminin（LN）, human type Ⅳ collagen（Ⅳ-C） and human N-terminal procollagen Ⅲ peptide（PC-Ⅲ）, were detected before and after Ld T treatment in LC group. The results showed favorable viral suppression and biochemical responses after treatment with Ld T for 12 weeks, and a high rate of virological and biochemical control was maintained during the course of 108-week treatment in both CHB and LC groups. The four fibrosis-related markers, especially HA and LN, were down-regulated to some degrees in LC group. Moreover, Ld T treatment led to the fluctuation of the circulating interferon-γ（IFN-γ） and interleukin-10（IL-10） levels at different time points in CHB group. It was concluded that Ld T could favorably lead to the virological suppression and biochemical remission. Besides, IFN-γ and IL-10 may represent a suitable and effective predictor of responsiveness during Ld T therapy.