Eur J Endocrinol
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DOI: 10.1530/EJE-06-0735
European Journal of Endocrinology, Vol 156, Issue 4, 409-414
Copyright © 2007 by European Society of Endocrinology
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CLINICAL STUDY

Serum CXCL10 levels and occurrence of thyroid dysfunction in patients treated with interferon-{alpha} therapy for hepatitis C virus-related hepatitis

Mario Rotondi, Roberta Minelli1, Flavia Magri, Paola Leporati, Paola Romagnani2, Maria Cristina Baroni1, Roberto Delsignore1, Mario Serio2 and Luca Chiovato

Unit of Internal Medicine and Endocrinology Fondazione Salvatore Maugeri IRCCS and Chair of Endocrinology, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy, 1 Unit of Endocrinology, University of Parma, Parma, Italy and 2 Excellence Center for Research, Transfer and High Education DENOthe, University of Florence, Florence, Italy

(Correspondence should be addressed to L Chiovato; Email: lchiovato{at}fsm.it)

Objective: Thyroid autoimmunity is a common side effect of interferon-{alpha} (IFN-{alpha}) treatment for chronic hepatitis C. There are currently no reliable parameters to predict the occurrence of thyroid dysfunctions in patients undergoing IFN-{alpha} therapy. CXC chemokine ligand 10 (CXCL10) is a chemokine known to play a role in both thyroid autoimmune disease and hepatitis C virus (HCV) hepatitis.

Design: The aim of this study was to evaluate serum CXCL10 levels in HCV patients treated with IFN-{alpha} in relation to the occurrence of thyroid dysfunctions. Serum CXCL10 levels were assayed in 25 HCV patients (proven to be negative for serum thyroid antibodies) before and during IFN-{alpha} therapy (2, 4 and 6 months) and in 50 healthy controls. HCV patients were retrospectively selected according to the occurrence of IFN-{alpha}-induced thyroid dysfunction and were assigned to two groups. Group I included 15 patients who did not develop thyroid antibody positivity or dysfunction; group II included ten patients who showed the appearance of serum thyroid antibodies, followed by clinically overt thyroid dysfunction.

Results: Patients with HCV, regardless of the development of thyroid dysfunctions, had significantly higher serum CXCL10 than controls (261.6±123.4 vs 80.4±33.6 pg/ml; P<0.00001). Pretreatment mean serum CXCL10 levels were significantly higher in Group I versus Group II (308.6±130.7 vs 191.1±69.4 pg/ml; P<0.05). Groups I and II showed different rates of favourable response to IFN-{alpha} treatment (33 and 90% respectively).

Conclusion: Our results suggest that measuring serum CXCL10 before IFN-{alpha} treatment may be helpful for identifying those patients with higher risk to develop thyroid dysfunction, and require a careful thyroid surveillance throughout the treatment.






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