comparison between interleukine-17 levels by nk-t cells in patients with chronic hepatitis c and healthy individuals

background and aims: natural killer t (nkt) cells have been suggested to play critical roles in a wide range of immune responses especially against hepatotropic pathogens such as hepatitis c virus (hcv). in  the  present  study,  we  investigated  the  status  of  nkt  cells  by producing interleukin-17 cytokine in  peripheral  blood.  patients and methods: as case-control study, 15 patients with chronic hcv infection and healthy individuals were enrolled in the study. we was determined the serum and peripheral blood il-17 levels after activating by based on galactosylceramid and il-2 then the il-17 level was measured by enzyme-linked immunisorbentassey (elisa) methods. results: plasma level of il-17 in patients with chronic infection did not differ compared to the control group (5.5±2.4 vs. 6.2±1.2 pg/ml p=0.5). the level of supernatant il-17 was significantly increased in both galactosylceramid-il-2-stimulated pbmcs than control group that ratio il-17 after 72 h was higher than other times. the plasma level of il-17 in hcv 3a-infected patients was higher than 1a-type patients that this difference was not significant (6±2.5 vs. 4.8±2.5 p=0.45). conclusion: as the recent data, the roles of nkt cells in human liver injury and fibrosis remain unknown. however, the precise role of nkt cells in hcv patients as this play a role in innate immune responses in the liver in higher samples was performed.