Implications of prognostic variables in the assessment of autoimmunity in hepatitis C patients receiving interferon therapy

Correlation of vitamin D with inflammatory factors, oxidative stress and T cell subsets in patients with autoimmune hepatitis

Correlation of vitamin D with inflammatory factors, oxidative stress and T cell subsets in patients with autoimmune hepatitis were investigated. Patients with liver diseases (n=635) treated in The Sixth People's Hospital of Qingdao City from March 2015 to January 2018 were selected, among which 80 cases diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis were included into observation group, and 80 healthy cases were included into control group. Patients with autoimmune hepatitis were further divided into normal 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25-(OH) D] group (n=40) and abnormal 25-(OH) D group (n=40) according to the level of 25-(OH) D, and divided into normal liver function group (n=40) and abnormal liver function group (n=40). 25-(OH) D, liver function, inflammatory factors, oxidative stress level and T cell subsets were compared. In the observation group, levels of 25-(OH) D, superoxide dismutase (SOD), total antioxidant capacity, and T cell subsets were lower than those in the control group (P<0.05), while levels of total bilirubin (TBIL), indirect BIL (IBIL), direct BIL (DBIL), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), inflammatory factors and malondialdehyde (MDA) were higher than those in the control group (P<0.05). In the normal 25-(OH) D group, levels of inflammatory factors and oxidative stress factor were lower than those in the abnormal 25-(OH) D group (P<0.05), while the SOD level, total antioxidant capacity and T cell subset counts were higher than those in the abnormal 25-(OH) D group (P<0.05). Moreover, the 25-(OH) D level in patients with autoimmune hepatitis was negatively correlated with hs-CRP, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), ALT and MDA, but positively correlated with CD3⁺ and CD4⁺ counts, SOD and total antioxidant capacity. Patients with autoimmune hepatitis, especially those with decreased level of vitamin D, are more prone to enhanced inflammatory and stress responses, decreased levels of T cell subsets and decline in immunity.