The most reliable determination of severity and prognosis in chronic viral hepatitis is the histological staging of the disease, which comprises an invasive procedure and is often not well accepted by patients. The search for alternative non-invasive methods is mandatory especially in follow-ups after initial assessment by biopsy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) in patients under interferon alpha therapy whether responsive or non-responsive to therapy. Thirty chronic hepatitis C patients (CHC) under combined therapy of interferon-α with ribavirin, whether responsive or non-responsive, were included in the study as well as ten healthy controls. Serum VCAM-1 and ICAM-1 levels were calculated using commercial enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits. Before the therapy, sICAM-1 and sVCAM-1 levels were significantly higher among CHC patients (96.9 ± 39.74 and 679.4 ± 218.98 ng/mL, respectively) than in the control group (14.3 ± 4.32 and 108.9 ± 49.21 ng/mL, respectively), (p < 0.05 for both). They were higher among non-responsive than in responsive patients. Comparisons in soluble ICAM-1 (sICAM-1) levels of responsive persons during treatment revealed a statistically significant increase at baseline (81.27 ± 25.797) versus its value after one month (52.33 ± 12.76), p < 0.05 and after three months (49.67 ± 14.42), p < 0.05. However, no statistically significant difference was detected between one and three-month sICAM-1 levels post-therapy commencement (p = 0.055). Also, no statistically significant difference was detected between sVCAM-1 levels at baseline (521.47 ± 137.29) versus three months after therapy initiation (517.53 ± 130.6), p = 0.854. The occurrence of a significant decrease in sICAM-1 level as early as one month after therapy in responsive patients only allows us to conclude that sICAM-1 could be used as an early marker in CHC patients under interferon therapy to predict prognosis and guide the treatment, whereas sVCAM-1 does not present any difference between the studied groups.
ICAM-1; VCAM-1; interferon; ribavirin; chronic hepatitis C
