Expression of transcription factor MafB and its effect on immune regulation in patients with chronic hepatitis C

Abstract

Abstract: Objective To investigate the expression of transcription factor MafB and its role in immunomodulatory function in patients with chronic hepatitis C, and to provide a scientific basis for finding molecular markers for syndrome differentiation in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Methods Between August 2019 and October 2022, 65 patients with chronic hepatitis C were selected. According to TCM syndrome types, 41 cases were liver depression and spleen deficiency syndrome (liver depression and spleen deficiency group) and 24 cases were other TCM types, such as liver and gallbladder damp-heat type, liver and kidney yin deficiency type and blood stasis blocking collateral type (other syndromes group). 59 healthy people in the same period were divided into healthy control group. The clinical features and immunological indexes of different groups were compared. Results The ALT level in chronic hepatitis C group was significantly higher than that in healthy control group, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). Comparing the immunological indexes, we can know that the relative expression level of monocyte MafB mRNA, the relative abundance value of monocyte MafB protein, IL-4 and IL-12 levels in chronic hepatitis C group are significantly higher than those in healthy control group, and the levels of serum INF-α1 and INF-β are significantly lower than those in healthy control group, with statistical significance (P<0.05). In subgroup analysis of hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes, the levels of serum INF-α1 in HCV genotypes 2a and 3 were significantly lower than those in genotype 1b, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). The INF-α1 of HCV infection in other syndrome groups was significantly lower than that in the group of liver depression and spleen deficiency, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). Correlation analysis showed that MafB expression level was negatively correlated with serum INF-α1, It is positively correlated with serum IL-4 levels (P<0.05). Conclusion The increased expression of transcription factor MafB in patients with chronic hepatitis C and inhibition of immunomodulatory function in patients with chronic hepatitis C may be one of the important reasons for the chronic infection of HCV.

Key words: Chronic hepatitis C, Lymphocyte, Transcriptional factor

LI Min, JING Qiao-ling, CHANG Bai. Expression of transcription factor MafB and its effect on immune regulation in patients with chronic hepatitis C[J]. Chinese Hepatolgy, 2024, 29(9): 1100-1104.

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