肝硬化是一种高死亡率的疾病,在全球范围内造成重大的健康和经济负担。肝硬化的临床特点复杂多变。因此,肝硬化中免疫浸润相关基因的评估已成为肝病研究中的强制性要求,不仅可以识别潜在的生物标志物,还可以为疾病的潜在机制提供重要的见解。在这项研究中,我们旨在研究HCV患者外周血单个核细胞(PBMC)中细胞因子基因的表达谱,并鉴定与晚期肝硬化相关的基因表达特征.一项对90例HCV基因型4患者的横断面研究,包括无纤维化患者(F0,n=24),纤维化患者(F1-F3,n=36),和肝硬化患者(F4,n=30)已进行。通过定量实时PCR分析受试者PBMC中细胞因子基因的表达,ELISA法测定血清TGFβ2水平。我们的发现表明,与无纤维化患者相比,肝硬化和纤维化患者中TGIF1转录本的表达水平较低(分别为p=0.046和0.022)。此外,与纤维化患者相比,肝硬化患者的TGFβ1基因上调(p=0.015).此外,与无肝硬化或纤维化的患者相比,肝硬化患者的TGF-β2转录物表达水平较高,TGF-β2蛋白水平较高.根据ROC分析,TGFβ1,TGIF1转录本,和TGFβ2蛋白在区分肝硬化,纤维化,和非纤维化患者。我们的结果表明,PBMC中TGIF1,TGF-β1和TGF-β2基因的表达可能为识别晚期肝硬化患者提供有价值的工具,TGF-β和TGIF1可能是肝硬化的潜在生物标志物。这些发现可能对HCV患者肝硬化的诊断和治疗有意义。
Liver cirrhosis is a condition with high mortality that poses a significant health and economic burden worldwide. The clinical characteristics of liver cirrhosis are complex and varied. Therefore, the evaluation of immune infiltration-involved genes incirrhosis has become mandatory in liver disease research, not only to identify the potential biomarkers but also to provide important insights into the underlying mechanisms of the disease. In this study, we aimed to investigate the expression profile of cytokine genes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (
PBMCs) of HCV patients and identify the gene expression signature associated with advanced cirrhosis. A cross-sectional study of 90 HCV genotype 4 patients, including no fibrosis patients (F0, n = 24), fibrotic patients (F1-F3, n = 36), and cirrhotic patients (F4, n = 30) has been conducted. The expression of cytokine genes was analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR in the subjects\'
PBMCs, and the serum level of TGFβ2 was measured by ELISA. Our findings showed that the expression level of the TGIF1 transcript was lower in cirrhotic and fibrotic patients compared to no fibrosis patients (p = 0.046 and 0.022, respectively). Also, there was an upregulation of the TGFβ1 gene in cirrhotic patients relative to fibrotic patients (p = 0.015). Additionally, the cirrhotic patients had higher expression levels of the TGF-β2 transcript and elevated levels of the TGF-β2 protein than patients with no cirrhosis or fibrosis. According to the ROC analysis, TGFβ1, TGIF1 transcripts, and TGFβ2 protein have a good discriminatory performance in distinguishing between cirrhotic, fibrotic, and non-fibrotic patients. Our results suggested that the expression of TGIF1, TGF-β1, and TGF-β2 genes in
PBMCs may provide a valuable tool for identifying patients with advanced cirrhosis and that TGF-β and TGIF1 may be potential biomarkers for cirrhosis. These findings may have implications for the diagnosis and treatment of cirrhosis in HCV patients.