Abstract: Objective The aim of this study was to investigate serum interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-8 and IL-10 level changes and their impact on response to steroid therapy in patients with autoimmune hepatitis (AIH). Methods 60 patients with AIH and 60 healthy individuals were recruited in our hospital between January 2020 and December 2023, and all patients received prednisone treatment for six months. Serum IL-6, IL-8 and IL-10 levels were measured by chemiluminescence method. Performance for predicting response to therapy was analyzed by using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Results At admission, serum IL-6 and IL-8 levels in patients with AIH were (7.5±2.5)pg/mL and (70.2±26.7)pg/mL, both significantly higher than [(4.8±1.4)pg/mL and (42.4±13.2)pg/mL, respectively, P＜0.05], while serum IL-10 levels was (4.2±1.1)pg/mL, much lower than [(7.3±2.6)pg/mL, P＜0.05] in healthy individuals; by end of six month treatment, serum IL-6 and IL-8 levels obviously decreased and serum IL-10 level increased (P＜0.05) in patients with AIH; 56.7% of patients with AIH in our series responded, while 43.3% of them didn’t completely responded to steroid therapy; at presentation, serum IL-6 and IL-8 levels in responders were (4.9±1.4)pg/mL and (47.4±15.2)pg/mL, both significantly lower than [(9.9±2.8)pg/mL and (108.3±28.7)pg/mL, respectively, P＜0.05], while serum IL-10 level was (6.9±1.9)pg/mL, much higher than [(2.7±1.6)pg/mL, P＜0.05] in non-responders; ROC analysis showed that AUC was 0.816, with sensitivity of 100.0% and specificity of 50.0%, when serum IL-6, IL-8 and IL-10 (≤4.8 pg/mL, ≤48.0 pg/mL and ＞6.8 pg/mL as cut-off-value, respectively) combination in predicting response to steroid therapy. Conclusion Serum IL-6, IL-8 and IL-10 levels in patients with AIH change abnormally, which might be involved in pathogenesis of the disease, and impact response to immunosuppression therapy.

Key words: Autoimmune hepatitis, Interleukin-6, Interleukin-8, Interleukin-10, Steroid treatment, Response, Prediction