Differential expression of interferon blocking activities in sera from patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

SUMMARY Natural inhibitors to various cytokines including interferon (IFN), have been documented in vitro as well as in vivo. The aim of this study was to investigate the existence of IFN inhibitors in the serum of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and to postulate their possible clinical significance. Sera from 16 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, collected before any treatment, were tested while sera from 24 healthy blood donors were used as controls. All serum samples were tested for IFN- blocking and endogenous IFN-like activity. These activities were measured by a bioassay based on the IFN displaying antiviral state in three different cell lines highly sensitive to IFN: A549 , Intestine- 407 and Chang liver cells. IFN-blocking activity was detected in the cell lines mentioned above in 93.7%, 12.5% and 37.5% of patients’ sera respectively. No IFN-blocking activity was detected in the controls. The results support a cytokine and cytokine inhibitor network mediating pathophysiol 里cal events in the cellular level as well as in the whole organism. The limited responsiveness of hepatocellular carcinoma to rIFNᠭay potentially be due to the presence of such inhibitors. Key Words: Interferon, Interferon inhibitors, Hepatocellular carcinoma, Cell sensitivity