Open Access

Serum IL‑21 levels predict HBeAg decline during rescue therapy in patients with partial response to nucleos(t)ide analogues

  • Authors:
    • Yue Li
    • Calvin Q. Pan
    • Shibo Ji
    • Gaiqin Yan
    • Jun Cheng
    • Shunai Liu
    • Huichun Xing
  • View Affiliations

  • Published online on: January 15, 2021     https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2021.9648
  • Article Number: 216
  • Copyright: © Li et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

To investigate whether IL‑21 levels predict treatment outcomes of salvage therapy among patients with suboptimal response (SOR) to nucleos(t)ide analogues (NAs), serum IL‑21 levels were measured in a prospective cohort of hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)‑positive patients with SOR to antiviral therapy. The patients switched therapy to entecavir (ETV) with or without adefovir (ADV) for 104 weeks. IL‑21 levels at treatment week 12 in patients who achieved HBeAg loss with undetectable levels of hepatitis B virus (HBV)‑DNA at week 104 were the primary endpoint and the results were compared with those of corresponding patients without such an endpoint. Furthermore, IL‑21 levels at treatment week 12 in patients who achieved an HBeAg‑level decline at week 104 were assessed as the secondary endpoint. Among 24 enrolled patients with SOR to ADV (n=21), telbivudine (n=2) or ETV (n=1), the median (10‑90th percentile) levels of HBeAg, HBV‑DNA and ALT at baseline were 2.7 (0.2‑3.1) log10 S/CO, 5.2 (3.5‑7.5) log10 IU/ml and 0.9 (0.5‑3.1) upper limit of normal, respectively. Comparison of the patients with and without HBeAg loss at week 104 indicated that their mean IL‑21 levels did not significantly differ at week 12 (63.0±14.4 vs. 55.9±10.5 pg/ml; P=0.26). In the secondary endpoint analyses of patients with and without HBeAg level decline, the elevated levels of IL‑21 at the first 12 weeks were significantly higher in the decline group (15.6±8.3 vs. 3.1±13.2 pg/ml; P=0.03). Following adjustment for confounding factors, the elevated levels of IL‑21 from baseline to week 12 independently predicted an HBeAg level decline at week 104 (odds ratio=1.137, R2=0.23; P=0.047). In conclusion, the serum IL‑21 levels at the first 12 weeks during the salvage therapy independently predicted HBeAg level decline at treatment week 104 in patients with SOR to NAs (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01829685; date of registration, April 2013).
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March-2021
Volume 21 Issue 3

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Spandidos Publications style
Li Y, Pan CQ, Ji S, Yan G, Cheng J, Liu S and Xing H: Serum IL‑21 levels predict HBeAg decline during rescue therapy in patients with partial response to nucleos(t)ide analogues. Exp Ther Med 21: 216, 2021
APA
Li, Y., Pan, C.Q., Ji, S., Yan, G., Cheng, J., Liu, S., & Xing, H. (2021). Serum IL‑21 levels predict HBeAg decline during rescue therapy in patients with partial response to nucleos(t)ide analogues. Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine, 21, 216. https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2021.9648
MLA
Li, Y., Pan, C. Q., Ji, S., Yan, G., Cheng, J., Liu, S., Xing, H."Serum IL‑21 levels predict HBeAg decline during rescue therapy in patients with partial response to nucleos(t)ide analogues". Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine 21.3 (2021): 216.
Chicago
Li, Y., Pan, C. Q., Ji, S., Yan, G., Cheng, J., Liu, S., Xing, H."Serum IL‑21 levels predict HBeAg decline during rescue therapy in patients with partial response to nucleos(t)ide analogues". Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine 21, no. 3 (2021): 216. https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2021.9648