Effect of methylprednisolone injection on interleukin-4 and interferon-gamma expression following hepatitis B vaccination in mice.

BACKGROUND/AIM The prevalence of hepatitis B infection is high worldwide with liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma as important complications. Immunosuppression, especially from corticosteroids, is often cited as a cause of poor immune response and there is documented evidence of irrational administration of glucocorticoids to children and adults. Decreased expression of interleukin-4 and interferon-gamma is an indication of poor humoral and cellular immune responses, respectively. Therefore, we decided to find out if methylprednisolone injection decreases interleukin-4 and interferon-gamma expression following hepatitis B vaccination in mice. MATERIALS AND METHODS Mice were randomly divided into 2 groups. Daily intramuscular injections of methylprednisolone (15 mg/kg) were given to the test group while water for injection (0.1 mL) was given to the control group for 30 days. On day 6 all mice were given 2 μg of hepatitis B vaccine and they received a booster dose on day 27. On day 34, blood samples were collected and analyzed for interleukin-4 and interferon-gamma titers. RESULTS There was positive interleukin-4 and interferon-gamma response in all groups but the differences in titers were not statistically significant. CONCLUSION At the dosages and length of exposure used in this study, methylprednisolone injection did not significantly inhibit interleukin-4 and interferon-gamma expression following immunization against hepatitis B virus in mice.