Emerging evidences showed the promoting role of spleen in the development of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, in the context of portal hypertension and hypersplenism due to hepatitis B virus-related cirrhosis. In this study, we tried to explore the precise mechanism of how spleen regulates this process from the serum cytokines profile level. Compared with the 16 healthy subjects, the RayBio Human Cytokine Antibody Array identified 136 cytokines differentially expressed in 36 cirrhotic patients. Splenectomy resulted in significant changes in 28 cytokines. Differentially expressed cytokines were mainly involved in cellular processes, responses to stimuli, immune processes, binding, extracellular regions, and extracellular matrix. These cytokines were mainly enriched in cytokine-cytokine receptor interactions, Jak-STAT and MAPK signaling pathways, and pathways in cancer. These results may provide new clues to the function of the spleen, and modulation of cytokine expression maybe a potential alternative therapeutic strategy for these patients.
Keywords: cytokine; liver cirrhosis; portal hypertension; protein antibody array; splenectomy.