الفهرس | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract Background: HCV is a hepatotropic non-cytopathic virus able to persist in a great percentage of infected hosts due to its ability to escape from the immune control. Liver damage and disease progression during HCV infection are driven by both viral and host factors. Aim of the Work: to assess vitamin D level and intrleukin-17 level in chronic hepatitis C patients and to determine whether there is a correlation between the two. Subjects and Methods: The present study was conducted in Clinical Pathology Department, Ain Shams University Hospitals. It included 50 adult individuals divided in to two groups. First group: Thirty Egyptian chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected patients (HCV RNA positive ˃ 6months). Second group: Twenty healthy volunteers who are age and sex-matched. Results: The current study showed that there was no correlation between vitamin D and IL-17 among both groups. Conclusion: It has been observed that chronic HCV patients have high level of IL-17 and low level of vitamin D. We could assume that vitamin D deficiency can be one of the causes of elevation of the IL-17 resulting in more inflammatory consequences in the liver. Recommendations: Further investigations are recommended to clarify the rule of IL-17 in the pathogenesis of chronic hepatitis C disease |