Effects of estradiol and progesterone on the proinflammatory cytokine production by mononuclear cells from patients with chronic hepatitis C

Table 2 Spontaneous production of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-8, and MCP-1 by PBMCs from age-matched younger and older males and pre- and post-menopausal females of patients with chronic hepatitis C and healthy controls (pg/mL supernatant)

Subjects with and without chronic HCV infection			TNF-α	IL-1β	IL-8	MCP-1
Males	Younger	Patients	354 ± 201a	253 ± 142	918 ± 499	403 ± 216
	(< 50 yr)	Controls	265 ± 161	180 ± 105	780 ± 420	308 ± 161
	Older	Patients	385 ± 234a	284 ± 160a	1087 ± 576a	461 ± 242a
	(≥ 50 yr)	Controls	322 ± 200	217 ± 125	899 ± 480	364 ± 187
Females	Pre-menopausal	Patients	288 ± 177	198 ± 111	780 ± 410	334 ± 174
	(< 50 yr)	Controls	210 ± 126	167 ± 94	624 ± 335	275 ± 140
	Post-menopausal	Patients	314 ± 189	264 ± 149a	887 ± 473	387 ± 198
	(≥ 50 yr)	Controls	241 ± 148	182 ± 100	699 ± 372	362 ± 201

The PBMCs were isolated from age-matched males (n = 72) and pre- and post-menopausal females (n = 71) of 71 patients with chronic hepatitis C and 72 healthy controls. The levels of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-8, and MCP-1 in the culture supernatant were detected by means of an ELISA. The values are the mean ± SD (n = 17 or 18).

^aP < 0.05 vs the pre-menopausal healthy controls.