# Antiviral Therapy with Entecavir following Antituberculosis Therapy Alleviates Liver Injury and Restores Innate Immunity in Tuberculosis Patients Coinfected with Hepatitis B Virus

Authors: Xiaojing Huang; Xiao Zheng; Chenyang Shen
Journal: Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine
 (2021)

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## Abstract

Objective. Coinfection of tuberculosis (TB) and viral hepatitis may increase the risk of antituberculosis treatment-induced hepatotoxicity, which is regarded as a common cause of termination of the first-line antituberculosis drugs. The study aimed at investigating the protective effects of antiviral therapy on the liver and innate immunity in patients with TB-HBV coinfection. Methods. A total of 100 patients with TB-HBV coinfection were recruited and split into antituberculosis and antiviral groups, 50 per group, according to odd or even date of hospital admission from December 2019 to October 2020. The patients in the anti-TB group received antituberculosis therapy, and those in the antiviral group received antiviral therapy. The clinical effectiveness; HBV-DNA negative conversion rate; liver function assessment involving alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and total bilirubin (TBIL); immune function evaluation including CD4+, CD8+, CD4+/CD8+, and CD3+ T cells; inflammatory cytokines containing tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and interferon-γ (IFN-γ); and intestinal microflora including bifidobacterium, lactobacillus, enterobacterium, enterococcus, and clostridium were main outcome measures after treatment. Results. It was found that the total response rate in the antiviral group was significantly higher than the anti-TB group after treatment (χ2 = 3.157, P=0.017). There was a significant difference in HBV-DNA negative conversion rates between the antiviral group and anti-TB group (82% vs. 58%, χ2 = 6.384, P=0.001). The ALT, AST, and TBIL in the two groups were all increased after treatment (P<0.05), but the antiviral group indicated a rise of the above indices compared to the anti-TB group (P<0.05). The two groups showed a rise on the concentration of CD3+, CD4+, and CD4+/CD8+ T cells and a decline on the CD8+ T cells after treatment (P<0.05), but these changes in the antiviral group were more evident to those in the anti-TB group (P<0.05). There was an increase on the IFN-γ level and decrease on the TNF-α and IL-6 levels in both groups after treatment (P<0.05), but the antiviral group revealed a higher level of IFN-γ with lower levels of TNF-α and IL-6 compared to the anti-TB group (P<0.05). After treatment, the number of bifidobacteria and lactobacilli was increased, and the number of enterobacteria, enterococci, and clostridium were decreased in the two groups (P<0.05), while these changes in the antiviral group were more remarkable compared to the anti-TB group (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the incidence of adverse reactions between the two groups (χ2 = 0.267, P=0.731). Conclusion. Antiviral therapy for tuberculosis-HBV coinfected patients could inhibit HBV replication, providing protection against liver damage, improving innate immunity, and balancing intestinal microflora.


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## Body

## 1. Introduction

Tuberculosis (TB) and chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) are common diseases all over the world, which cause huge burden on global health care [1, 2]. The disease TB is mainly caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis that most often affect the lungs. The other bacteria such as Mycobacterium bovis, Mycobacterium africanum, Mycobacterium parvum, and Mycobacterium canetti are responsible for TB as well [3]. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that a quarter of the world’s population runs the risk of being potentially infected with tuberculosis every year [4], and TB, as one of the top 10 causes of death, was associated with 1.37 million deaths estimated by the WHO in 2015, which was comparable with that of chronic HBV and chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) [5]. Nowadays, the WHO recommends antituberculosis therapy (2HRZE/4HR) for patients with tuberculosis. In brief, the patients take in isoniazid, rifampicin, pyrazinamide, and ethambutol daily for 2 months during the intensive phase and were treated continually with isoniazid and rifampicin for 4 months. The 2HRZE/4HR therapy is relevant with low costs and excellent response, but leads to liver injury [6].The chronic HBV represents a partial double-stranded hepatophilic deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) virus, which leads to the persistent and chronic infection in human body [7]. The natural process of chronic HBV infection includes immune tolerance, hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) positive immunologic activity, inactivity, and HBeAg-negative immunologic activity [8]. During the natural process, treatment, or after treatment, the viral biomarkers were closely related to the diagnosis of chronic HBV infection [9]. The main HBV biomarkers consist of serology and molecular methods. The serology involves the detection and quantification of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), and the molecular methods were applied to detect the quantification of HBV-DNA [10]. The chronic HBV infection has been contributed to the major threat of global public health and economy burden [11]. The first effective vaccine against HBV was available in 1981 but with limited use in the infants who was born in low-income and middle-income countries due to its high cost [12, 13]. Although the HBV vaccination programme has been widely applied since 2001, it was estimated that 257 million people worldwide were infected with the HBV in 2015 reported by the WHO. The virus hepatitis mostly involving chronic HBV and HCV leaded to 1.34 million deaths, and the cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma were responsible for the major causes of deaths [5]. The current treatments of pegylated interferon-alfa (PEG-IFN-α) and antiviral nucleoside analogues were widely used for HBV-infected patients, but PEG-IFN-α therapy was turned out to have modest efficacy and poor tolerability [14].Globally, the prevalence of HBV infection in TB patients has not been extensively investigated, and there was little evidence which revealed the association between the liver dysfunction and antitherapy for patients complicated with TB and HBV. In this study, we aimed at finding out the changes of liver function, HBV-DNA, immune system, inflammatory response, and intestinal microflora in patients with TB-HBV coinfection, who received the additional antiviral therapy.


## 2. Materials and Methods

### 2.1. Study Design

The eligible patients should meet the following criteria: (a) be in accordance with the diagnosis issued by WHO Consolidated Guidelines on Tuberculosis [15] and WHO Guidelines for the Prevention, Care and Therapy of Persons with Chronic Hepatitis B Infection [16]; (b) positive HBV-DNA; (c) smear-positive tuberculosis; (d) patients with high compliance and informed consent was signed; (e) initial therapy of tuberculosis; (f) aged from 22 to 65 years; (g) complete clinical data. Those patients were in accordance with the following criteria should be excluded: (a) patients received liver and antiviral therapy in the past one month before admission; (b) primary heart, liver, and kidney dysfunction; (c) complicated by hepatitis C and cirrhosis; (d) complicated by malignant tumor, diabetes, immune system diseases, and other infectious diseases; (e) allergic constitution; (f) cognitive impairment; (g) pregnant and lactating females.


### 2.2. Treatment Protocol

The patients in the anti-TB group were treated with standard antituberculosis therapy (2HRZE/4HR). During the initial 2-month intensive phase, 0.3 g isoniazid (H) (specification: 0.1 g∗ 100 tablets, national medicine permission number: H21022350, Hongqi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., China), 0.45 g rifampicin (R) (national medicine permission number: H21020837, Shenyang Antibiotic Manufacture, China), 30 mg/kg pyrazinamide (Z) (specification: 0.25 g, national medicine permission number: H51020876, Chengdu Jinhua Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., China), and 15 mg/kg ethambutol (E) (specification: 0.25 g ∗ 100 tablets, national medicine permission number: H33021602, Minsheng Pharma Holdings, China) were given to each patient once a day. During the stabilization phase, the patients received 0.3 g H and 0.45 g R once a day for 4 months. For patients in the antiviral group, in addition to antituberculosis therapy, they continued to receive oral administration of 0.5 mg entecavir (specification: 0.5 mg ∗ 7 tablets, national medicine permission number: H20150602, Sino-American Shanghai Squibb Pharmaceuticals Ltd., China) once a day for 6 months. The liver function of each patient was closely monitored during treatment. The drug withdrawal should be conducted according to the severity of liver injury in the patients, and the adverse reactions and drug withdrawal were recorded.


### 2.3. Blood and Fecal Sample Collection

Two tubes of fasting venous blood were collected from each patient before treatment and 6 months after treatment, and 5 ml of venous blood was extracted at a time. The sample tubes were stored in a medical low-temperature refrigerator at 4°C for 45 min (MDF-U5412, Panasonic, Japan) and then were centrifuged in a centrifuge with 10 cm radius at the speed of 3500 rpm/min for 15 min. The serum extracted from test tube was immediately placed into the Panasonic medical refrigerator at −80°C for testing. The fresh fecal sample (3–5 g) was collected from each patient before treatment and 6 months after treatment and placed into the sterile containers for further examination.


### 2.4. Outcome Measures

The HBV-DNA load was measured by a real-time PCR-based HBV-DNA kits (LC480, Roche, USA; Shanghai Kehua Bio-Engineering Co., Ltd., China), with lower limit of the dynamic range of 500 copies/mL as negative according to logarithm methods. Alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and total bilirubin (TBIL) were examined by the automatic biochemical analyzer (AU2800, Coulter, USA). The CD4+, CD8+, CD4+/CD8+, and CD3+ T cells were tested using the flow cytometer (CytoFLEX, Beckman Coulter, USA) using commercial available kits (Sangon Biotech, Shanghai, China), and the ratio of CD+4/CD+8 was calculated. The inflammatory cytokines, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) (Model 550, Bio-Rad, China) using the automatic biochemical analyzer (AU2800, Beckman Coulter, USA). The intestinal microflora was detected by real-time PCR. In brief, total DNA was extracted from the fecal samples using the trizol assay and dissolved by diethyl-pyrocarbonate-treated distilled water. The purity of DNA was detected using the ultraviolet spectrophotometer (OD-1000, Shanghai Gennesic Medical Technology Co., Ltd., China). In brief, with 20 µl reaction substances, reverse transcription PCR was performed with 1 µl DNA to generate cDNA. Using U6 as the internal reference, the PCR amplification was carried out under the condition of pre-denaturation at 95°C for 2 min, 40 cycles of denaturation at 95°C for 15 s and annealing at 65°C for 30 s according to the manufacturer’s instructions. According to the fluorescence data, the CT value was automatically analyzed by the iCyclerOptical system interface software, with the result of standard curve generated. The number of bifidobacteria, lactobacilli, enterobacteria, clostridium, and enterococci was calculated by the dissolution curve.


### 2.5. Efficacy Criteria

The criteria were set according to the WHO Consolidated Guidelines on Tuberculosis [15] and WHO Guidelines for the Prevention, Care and Therapy of Persons with Chronic Hepatitis B Infection [16]. The excellent response was defined as the disappearance of calcification on CT and symptoms such as cough and chest pain and negative sputum and HBV-DNA examination. The calcification disappeared more than 30%, and symptoms were alleviated, which revealed good response. The no-response indicated slight change on the calcification and no improvement on the tuberculosis symptoms. Total response rate = excellent response rate + good response rate.


### 2.6. Statistical Process

All the data were analyzed by SPSS 21.0 software. The measurement data were expressed by mean ± standard deviation and analyzed byt-test. The counting data were defined as rate and measured by chi-squared test. P<0.05 was considered as statistically significant.


## 2.1. Study Design

The eligible patients should meet the following criteria: (a) be in accordance with the diagnosis issued by WHO Consolidated Guidelines on Tuberculosis [15] and WHO Guidelines for the Prevention, Care and Therapy of Persons with Chronic Hepatitis B Infection [16]; (b) positive HBV-DNA; (c) smear-positive tuberculosis; (d) patients with high compliance and informed consent was signed; (e) initial therapy of tuberculosis; (f) aged from 22 to 65 years; (g) complete clinical data. Those patients were in accordance with the following criteria should be excluded: (a) patients received liver and antiviral therapy in the past one month before admission; (b) primary heart, liver, and kidney dysfunction; (c) complicated by hepatitis C and cirrhosis; (d) complicated by malignant tumor, diabetes, immune system diseases, and other infectious diseases; (e) allergic constitution; (f) cognitive impairment; (g) pregnant and lactating females.


## 2.2. Treatment Protocol

The patients in the anti-TB group were treated with standard antituberculosis therapy (2HRZE/4HR). During the initial 2-month intensive phase, 0.3 g isoniazid (H) (specification: 0.1 g∗ 100 tablets, national medicine permission number: H21022350, Hongqi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., China), 0.45 g rifampicin (R) (national medicine permission number: H21020837, Shenyang Antibiotic Manufacture, China), 30 mg/kg pyrazinamide (Z) (specification: 0.25 g, national medicine permission number: H51020876, Chengdu Jinhua Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., China), and 15 mg/kg ethambutol (E) (specification: 0.25 g ∗ 100 tablets, national medicine permission number: H33021602, Minsheng Pharma Holdings, China) were given to each patient once a day. During the stabilization phase, the patients received 0.3 g H and 0.45 g R once a day for 4 months. For patients in the antiviral group, in addition to antituberculosis therapy, they continued to receive oral administration of 0.5 mg entecavir (specification: 0.5 mg ∗ 7 tablets, national medicine permission number: H20150602, Sino-American Shanghai Squibb Pharmaceuticals Ltd., China) once a day for 6 months. The liver function of each patient was closely monitored during treatment. The drug withdrawal should be conducted according to the severity of liver injury in the patients, and the adverse reactions and drug withdrawal were recorded.


## 2.3. Blood and Fecal Sample Collection

Two tubes of fasting venous blood were collected from each patient before treatment and 6 months after treatment, and 5 ml of venous blood was extracted at a time. The sample tubes were stored in a medical low-temperature refrigerator at 4°C for 45 min (MDF-U5412, Panasonic, Japan) and then were centrifuged in a centrifuge with 10 cm radius at the speed of 3500 rpm/min for 15 min. The serum extracted from test tube was immediately placed into the Panasonic medical refrigerator at −80°C for testing. The fresh fecal sample (3–5 g) was collected from each patient before treatment and 6 months after treatment and placed into the sterile containers for further examination.


## 2.4. Outcome Measures

The HBV-DNA load was measured by a real-time PCR-based HBV-DNA kits (LC480, Roche, USA; Shanghai Kehua Bio-Engineering Co., Ltd., China), with lower limit of the dynamic range of 500 copies/mL as negative according to logarithm methods. Alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and total bilirubin (TBIL) were examined by the automatic biochemical analyzer (AU2800, Coulter, USA). The CD4+, CD8+, CD4+/CD8+, and CD3+ T cells were tested using the flow cytometer (CytoFLEX, Beckman Coulter, USA) using commercial available kits (Sangon Biotech, Shanghai, China), and the ratio of CD+4/CD+8 was calculated. The inflammatory cytokines, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) (Model 550, Bio-Rad, China) using the automatic biochemical analyzer (AU2800, Beckman Coulter, USA). The intestinal microflora was detected by real-time PCR. In brief, total DNA was extracted from the fecal samples using the trizol assay and dissolved by diethyl-pyrocarbonate-treated distilled water. The purity of DNA was detected using the ultraviolet spectrophotometer (OD-1000, Shanghai Gennesic Medical Technology Co., Ltd., China). In brief, with 20 µl reaction substances, reverse transcription PCR was performed with 1 µl DNA to generate cDNA. Using U6 as the internal reference, the PCR amplification was carried out under the condition of pre-denaturation at 95°C for 2 min, 40 cycles of denaturation at 95°C for 15 s and annealing at 65°C for 30 s according to the manufacturer’s instructions. According to the fluorescence data, the CT value was automatically analyzed by the iCyclerOptical system interface software, with the result of standard curve generated. The number of bifidobacteria, lactobacilli, enterobacteria, clostridium, and enterococci was calculated by the dissolution curve.


## 2.5. Efficacy Criteria

The criteria were set according to the WHO Consolidated Guidelines on Tuberculosis [15] and WHO Guidelines for the Prevention, Care and Therapy of Persons with Chronic Hepatitis B Infection [16]. The excellent response was defined as the disappearance of calcification on CT and symptoms such as cough and chest pain and negative sputum and HBV-DNA examination. The calcification disappeared more than 30%, and symptoms were alleviated, which revealed good response. The no-response indicated slight change on the calcification and no improvement on the tuberculosis symptoms. Total response rate = excellent response rate + good response rate.


## 2.6. Statistical Process

All the data were analyzed by SPSS 21.0 software. The measurement data were expressed by mean ± standard deviation and analyzed byt-test. The counting data were defined as rate and measured by chi-squared test. P<0.05 was considered as statistically significant.


## 3. Results

### 3.1. Demographic Characteristics of Study Participants

A total of 100 patients with TB-HBV coinfection were recruited and split into antituberculosis and antiviral groups, 50 per group, according to odd or even date of hospital admission from December 2019 to October 2020. The antituberculosis treatment was applied to the patients in the anti-TB group, and the patients in the antiviral group received additional antiviral therapy on the basis of antituberculosis treatment. The anti-TB group included 31 males and 19 females who aged from 22 to 65 years, with an average age of 40.15 ± 16 years. In this group, the body mass index (BMI) ranged from 19 to 28 (24.26 ± 1.37) kg/m2, and the course of disease was 0.5–3 (1.38 ± 0.36) years. There were 29 males and 21 females in the antiviral group, with age ranging from 22 to 63 (41.06 ± 21) years, BMI ranging from 19 to 29 (24.16 ± 1.44) kg/m2, and disease course ranging from 1 to 3 (1.15 ± 0.38) years. The antituberculosis and antiviral groups were comparable considering no significant difference noted on gender, age, BMI, and disease course (P>0.05).


### 3.2. More Patients with TB-HBV Coinfection Recovered after Antiviral Therapy

According to the data listed in Figure1, the anti-TB group revealed that 18 out of 50 cases with chronic HBV and TB were cured, 22 cases were improved, and 10 cases were failed. 23 out of 50 cases were cured, 25 cases were improved, and 2 cases were failed in the antiviral group. The total response rate in the anti-TB group and antiviral group was 80% and 96%, respectively (χ2 = 3.157, P=0.017).Figure 1
Total response rates between the antituberculosis and antiviral groups.


### 3.3. Antiviral Therapy Inhibited HBV-DNA Replications

As listed in Figure2, the patients with negative HBV-DNA in the anti-TB group and antiviral group were 29 cases and 41 cases, respectively (58% vs. 82%). The negative conversion rate of HBV-DNA was observed with significant difference between the two groups (χ2 = 6.384, P=0.001).Figure 2
Negative conversion rates of HBV-DNA between the antituberculosis and antiviral groups.


### 3.4. Antiviral Therapy Alleviated Liver Injury in Patients with TB-HBV Coinfection

Before treatment, there was no significant difference in the ALT, AST, and TBIL levels between the anti-TB group and antiviral group (P>0.05). But it indicated a significant rise on the ALT, AST, and TBIL levels in both groups after treatment (P<0.05), and the patients in the antiviral group were with much lower ALT, AST, and TBIL levels compared to the anti-TB group (P<0.05, Table 1).Table 1
Changes of liver function between the two groups before treatment and 6 months after treatment.
GroupTimeALT (U/L)AST (U/L)TBIL (μmol/L)Anti-TB group (n = 50)Before treatment71.87 ± 9.7376.99 ± 6.3215.21 ± 2.966 months after treatment115.77 ± 12.45107.03 ± 11.8524.02 ± 4.88Antiviral group (n = 50)Before treatment71.86 ± 9.8276.00 ± 6.3415.20 ± 2.876 months after treatment95.36 ± 8.1185.68 ± 9.9319.89 ± 3.75t/P (within the anti-TB group)24.183/0.00134.251/0.00115.185/0.001t/P (within the antiviral group)35.196/0.00146.842/0.00121.021/0.001t/P (between groups)12.791/0.00115.564/0.0017.142/0.001ALT, alanine aminotransferase; AST, aspartate aminotransferase; TBIL, total bilirubin.


### 3.5. Antiviral Therapy Was Associated with Higher Innate Immunity in Patients with TB-HBV Coinfection

As shown in Table2, the anti-TB group and antiviral group showed no significant difference in the concentration of CD3+, CD4+, CD4+/CD8+, and CD8+ T cells before therapy (P>0.05). There was an increase in the concentration of CD3+, CD4+, and CD4+/CD8+ T cells, and a decline on the CD8+ T cells in both groups at 6 months after treatment (P<0.05), the CD3+, CD4+, and CD4+/CD8+ T cells revealed a significant rise, and CD8+ T cells showed an obvious decrease in the antiviral group compared to the anti-TB group (P<0.05).Table 2
The concentration of CD3+, CD4+, and CD4+/CD8+ T cells between the two groups before treatment and 6 months after treatment.
GroupTimeCD4+ (%)CD8+ (%)CD4+/CD8+CD3+ (%)Anti-TB group (n = 50)Before treatment34.84 ± 5.4734.38 ± 4.111.17 ± 0.2142.41 ± 6.486 months after treatment37.19 ± 5.9828.19 ± 3.011.43 ± 0.3948.63 ± 7.85Antiviral group (n = 50)Before treatment34.02 ± 5.1534.37 ± 4.161.19 ± 0.2342.63 ± 6.546 months after treatment41.14 ± 6.8423.34 ± 4.151.79 ± 0.4354.85 ± 8.26t/P (within the anti-TB group)5.397/0.0018.372/0.0013.192/0.0184.187/0.014t/P (within the antiviral group)6.571/0.00112.197/0.0014.146/0.0125.874/0.003t/P (between groups)4.179/0.0015.175/0.0012.825/0.0243.918/0.017


### 3.6. Antiviral Therapy Reduced the Inflammatory Response in Patients with TB-HBV Coinfection

There was a slight difference in the value of IFN-γ, TNF-α, and IL-6 between the two groups before therapy (P>0.05). After treatment, the anti-TB group and antiviral group both demonstrated a higher level of IFN-γ, and a lower value of TNF-α and IL-6 (P<0.05), but these changes were more obvious in the antiviral group than those in the anti-TB group (P<0.05, Table 3).Table 3
The serum levels of inflammatory cytokines changes between the two groups before treatment and 6 months after treatment.
GroupTimeIFN-γ (ng/L)TNF-α (ng/L)IL-6 (ng/L)Anti-TB group (n = 50)Before treatment7.96 ± 1.72598.19 ± 106.54123.39 ± 22.316 months after treatment15.93 ± 2.23264.74 ± 54.5158.38 ± 11.34Antiviral group (n = 50)Before treatment7.95 ± 1.64598.34 ± 105.53123.36 ± 22.326 months after treatment23.03 ± 5.16132.47 ± 22.9119.52 ± 6.82t/P (within the anti-TB group)11.075/0.00135.091/0.00124.086/0.001t/P (within the antiviral group)17.395/0.00152.197/0.00145.394/0.001t/P (between groups)9.179/0.00114.175/0.00113.187/0.001TNF-α, tumor necrosis factor-α; IL-6, interleukin-6; IFN-γ, interferon-γ.


### 3.7. Antiviral Therapy Balanced the Intestinal Microflora in Patients with TB-HBV Coinfection

Before treatment, the anti-TB group and antiviral group manifested slight difference in the number of bifidobacterium, lactobacillus, enterobacterium, enterococcus, and clostridium species (P>0.05). But there was a rise in bifidobacterium and lactobacillus and a decline in enterobacterium, enterococcus, and clostridium in both groups after treatment (P<0.05), but these changes in the antiviral group were superior to the anti-TB group (P<0.05). The data are shown in Table 4.Table 4
The numbers of intestinal microflora between the two groups before treatment and 6 months after treatment.
GroupTimeBifidobacterium (lgCFU/g)Lactobacillus (lgCFU/g)Enterobacterium (lgCFU/g)Enterococcus (lgCFU/g)Clostridium (lgCFU/g)Anti-TB group (n = 50)Before treatment8.23 ± 1.346.49 ± 1.329.17 ± 1.229.51 ± 1.3110.15 ± 1.246 months after treatment9.19 ± 1.217.04 ± 1.018.37 ± 1.388.49 ± 1.259.26 ± 1.15Antiviral group (n = 50)Before treatment8.26 ± 1.336.68 ± 1.259.18 ± 1.149.50 ± 1.2910.14 ± 1.256 months after treatment10.15 ± 2.148.28 ± 1.317.25 ± 1.437.47 ± 1.198.42 ± 1.13t/P (within the anti-TB group)3.075/0.0213.091/0.0233.086/0.0172.978/0.0313.418/0.016t/P (within the antiviral group)4.395/0.0134.197/0.0114.394/0.0084.068/0.0095.148/0.002t/P (between groups)3.179/0.0183.175/0.0193.187/0.0163.517/0.0153.054/0.012


### 3.8. The Incidence Rate of Adverse Reactions and Drug Withdrawal after Treatment

As indicated in Figure3, there were some adverse reactions involving headache (2 cases), fever (2 cases), and gastrointestinal reaction (3 cases) in the anti-TB group. The antiviral group included 2 cases of headache, 1 case of fever, and 1 case of gastrointestinal reaction, and the rate was 14.00% vs. 10.00% (χ2 = 0.267, P=0.731). During the therapy, drug withdrawal was applied to 9 patients in the anti-TB group, and 2 cases in the anti-viral group stopped taking drugs. The rate was 18.00% and 4.00%, respectively, which was statistically significant (χ2 = 2.984, P=0.041).Figure 3
Rates of drug withdrawal and incidence rates of adverse reactions between the antituberculosis and antiviral groups.


## 3.1. Demographic Characteristics of Study Participants

A total of 100 patients with TB-HBV coinfection were recruited and split into antituberculosis and antiviral groups, 50 per group, according to odd or even date of hospital admission from December 2019 to October 2020. The antituberculosis treatment was applied to the patients in the anti-TB group, and the patients in the antiviral group received additional antiviral therapy on the basis of antituberculosis treatment. The anti-TB group included 31 males and 19 females who aged from 22 to 65 years, with an average age of 40.15 ± 16 years. In this group, the body mass index (BMI) ranged from 19 to 28 (24.26 ± 1.37) kg/m2, and the course of disease was 0.5–3 (1.38 ± 0.36) years. There were 29 males and 21 females in the antiviral group, with age ranging from 22 to 63 (41.06 ± 21) years, BMI ranging from 19 to 29 (24.16 ± 1.44) kg/m2, and disease course ranging from 1 to 3 (1.15 ± 0.38) years. The antituberculosis and antiviral groups were comparable considering no significant difference noted on gender, age, BMI, and disease course (P>0.05).


## 3.2. More Patients with TB-HBV Coinfection Recovered after Antiviral Therapy

According to the data listed in Figure1, the anti-TB group revealed that 18 out of 50 cases with chronic HBV and TB were cured, 22 cases were improved, and 10 cases were failed. 23 out of 50 cases were cured, 25 cases were improved, and 2 cases were failed in the antiviral group. The total response rate in the anti-TB group and antiviral group was 80% and 96%, respectively (χ2 = 3.157, P=0.017).Figure 1
Total response rates between the antituberculosis and antiviral groups.


## 3.3. Antiviral Therapy Inhibited HBV-DNA Replications

As listed in Figure2, the patients with negative HBV-DNA in the anti-TB group and antiviral group were 29 cases and 41 cases, respectively (58% vs. 82%). The negative conversion rate of HBV-DNA was observed with significant difference between the two groups (χ2 = 6.384, P=0.001).Figure 2
Negative conversion rates of HBV-DNA between the antituberculosis and antiviral groups.


## 3.4. Antiviral Therapy Alleviated Liver Injury in Patients with TB-HBV Coinfection

Before treatment, there was no significant difference in the ALT, AST, and TBIL levels between the anti-TB group and antiviral group (P>0.05). But it indicated a significant rise on the ALT, AST, and TBIL levels in both groups after treatment (P<0.05), and the patients in the antiviral group were with much lower ALT, AST, and TBIL levels compared to the anti-TB group (P<0.05, Table 1).Table 1
Changes of liver function between the two groups before treatment and 6 months after treatment.
GroupTimeALT (U/L)AST (U/L)TBIL (μmol/L)Anti-TB group (n = 50)Before treatment71.87 ± 9.7376.99 ± 6.3215.21 ± 2.966 months after treatment115.77 ± 12.45107.03 ± 11.8524.02 ± 4.88Antiviral group (n = 50)Before treatment71.86 ± 9.8276.00 ± 6.3415.20 ± 2.876 months after treatment95.36 ± 8.1185.68 ± 9.9319.89 ± 3.75t/P (within the anti-TB group)24.183/0.00134.251/0.00115.185/0.001t/P (within the antiviral group)35.196/0.00146.842/0.00121.021/0.001t/P (between groups)12.791/0.00115.564/0.0017.142/0.001ALT, alanine aminotransferase; AST, aspartate aminotransferase; TBIL, total bilirubin.


## 3.5. Antiviral Therapy Was Associated with Higher Innate Immunity in Patients with TB-HBV Coinfection

As shown in Table2, the anti-TB group and antiviral group showed no significant difference in the concentration of CD3+, CD4+, CD4+/CD8+, and CD8+ T cells before therapy (P>0.05). There was an increase in the concentration of CD3+, CD4+, and CD4+/CD8+ T cells, and a decline on the CD8+ T cells in both groups at 6 months after treatment (P<0.05), the CD3+, CD4+, and CD4+/CD8+ T cells revealed a significant rise, and CD8+ T cells showed an obvious decrease in the antiviral group compared to the anti-TB group (P<0.05).Table 2
The concentration of CD3+, CD4+, and CD4+/CD8+ T cells between the two groups before treatment and 6 months after treatment.
GroupTimeCD4+ (%)CD8+ (%)CD4+/CD8+CD3+ (%)Anti-TB group (n = 50)Before treatment34.84 ± 5.4734.38 ± 4.111.17 ± 0.2142.41 ± 6.486 months after treatment37.19 ± 5.9828.19 ± 3.011.43 ± 0.3948.63 ± 7.85Antiviral group (n = 50)Before treatment34.02 ± 5.1534.37 ± 4.161.19 ± 0.2342.63 ± 6.546 months after treatment41.14 ± 6.8423.34 ± 4.151.79 ± 0.4354.85 ± 8.26t/P (within the anti-TB group)5.397/0.0018.372/0.0013.192/0.0184.187/0.014t/P (within the antiviral group)6.571/0.00112.197/0.0014.146/0.0125.874/0.003t/P (between groups)4.179/0.0015.175/0.0012.825/0.0243.918/0.017


## 3.6. Antiviral Therapy Reduced the Inflammatory Response in Patients with TB-HBV Coinfection

There was a slight difference in the value of IFN-γ, TNF-α, and IL-6 between the two groups before therapy (P>0.05). After treatment, the anti-TB group and antiviral group both demonstrated a higher level of IFN-γ, and a lower value of TNF-α and IL-6 (P<0.05), but these changes were more obvious in the antiviral group than those in the anti-TB group (P<0.05, Table 3).Table 3
The serum levels of inflammatory cytokines changes between the two groups before treatment and 6 months after treatment.
GroupTimeIFN-γ (ng/L)TNF-α (ng/L)IL-6 (ng/L)Anti-TB group (n = 50)Before treatment7.96 ± 1.72598.19 ± 106.54123.39 ± 22.316 months after treatment15.93 ± 2.23264.74 ± 54.5158.38 ± 11.34Antiviral group (n = 50)Before treatment7.95 ± 1.64598.34 ± 105.53123.36 ± 22.326 months after treatment23.03 ± 5.16132.47 ± 22.9119.52 ± 6.82t/P (within the anti-TB group)11.075/0.00135.091/0.00124.086/0.001t/P (within the antiviral group)17.395/0.00152.197/0.00145.394/0.001t/P (between groups)9.179/0.00114.175/0.00113.187/0.001TNF-α, tumor necrosis factor-α; IL-6, interleukin-6; IFN-γ, interferon-γ.


## 3.7. Antiviral Therapy Balanced the Intestinal Microflora in Patients with TB-HBV Coinfection

Before treatment, the anti-TB group and antiviral group manifested slight difference in the number of bifidobacterium, lactobacillus, enterobacterium, enterococcus, and clostridium species (P>0.05). But there was a rise in bifidobacterium and lactobacillus and a decline in enterobacterium, enterococcus, and clostridium in both groups after treatment (P<0.05), but these changes in the antiviral group were superior to the anti-TB group (P<0.05). The data are shown in Table 4.Table 4
The numbers of intestinal microflora between the two groups before treatment and 6 months after treatment.
GroupTimeBifidobacterium (lgCFU/g)Lactobacillus (lgCFU/g)Enterobacterium (lgCFU/g)Enterococcus (lgCFU/g)Clostridium (lgCFU/g)Anti-TB group (n = 50)Before treatment8.23 ± 1.346.49 ± 1.329.17 ± 1.229.51 ± 1.3110.15 ± 1.246 months after treatment9.19 ± 1.217.04 ± 1.018.37 ± 1.388.49 ± 1.259.26 ± 1.15Antiviral group (n = 50)Before treatment8.26 ± 1.336.68 ± 1.259.18 ± 1.149.50 ± 1.2910.14 ± 1.256 months after treatment10.15 ± 2.148.28 ± 1.317.25 ± 1.437.47 ± 1.198.42 ± 1.13t/P (within the anti-TB group)3.075/0.0213.091/0.0233.086/0.0172.978/0.0313.418/0.016t/P (within the antiviral group)4.395/0.0134.197/0.0114.394/0.0084.068/0.0095.148/0.002t/P (between groups)3.179/0.0183.175/0.0193.187/0.0163.517/0.0153.054/0.012


## 3.8. The Incidence Rate of Adverse Reactions and Drug Withdrawal after Treatment

As indicated in Figure3, there were some adverse reactions involving headache (2 cases), fever (2 cases), and gastrointestinal reaction (3 cases) in the anti-TB group. The antiviral group included 2 cases of headache, 1 case of fever, and 1 case of gastrointestinal reaction, and the rate was 14.00% vs. 10.00% (χ2 = 0.267, P=0.731). During the therapy, drug withdrawal was applied to 9 patients in the anti-TB group, and 2 cases in the anti-viral group stopped taking drugs. The rate was 18.00% and 4.00%, respectively, which was statistically significant (χ2 = 2.984, P=0.041).Figure 3
Rates of drug withdrawal and incidence rates of adverse reactions between the antituberculosis and antiviral groups.


## 4. Discussion

The TB disease has been continued to be a public health problem worldwide since the infectivity of disease discovered by the Koch [17]. The WHO estimated that, in 2019, about 10 million people infected with TB, and among them, there were 5.6 million men, 3.2 million women, and 1.2 million children. In addition, a total of 1.4 million people died from TB in 2019 [1]. TB is a treatable and curable disease, which is treated with a standard 6-month course of 4 antimicrobial drugs involving isoniazid, rifampicin, pyrazinamide, and ethambutol [18]. Chronic hepatitis B is a potentially life-threatening liver infection caused by the HBV, which is a well-known threat to global health [19]. The WHO estimated that, in 2015, chronic HBV attacked more than 2 billion individuals, with the result of 887.000 deaths caused mostly by cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma [20, 21]. The US Food and Drug Administration has approved two types of medicines for chronic HBV treatment. It includes immunomodulatory agents including conventional interferon and PEG-IFN-α and oral nucleotide/nucleoside analogues involving lamivudine, adefovir, telbivudine, entecavir, and tenofovir [22].In this study, the antiviral therapy with entecavir was given to the patients with HBV and TB infection. The entecavir, a cyclopentyl guanosine analogue, is an effective inhibitor of HBV-DNA polymerase, which is associated with the inhibition of viral DNA replication [23]. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential relations between the liver function and entecavir therapy for patients with TB and HBV coinfection. In this analysis, compared to the patients only received antituberculosis therapy, it was found that the antiviral therapy on patients with TB coinfection was successful in symptom relief and cure rate. In addition, the antiviral therapy inhibited the HBV replication, ending up with much higher negative conversion rate of HBV-DNA. The data indicated the entecavir therapy was related to the excellent clinical efficacy for patients with antituberculosis therapy. The findings were similar to another study which revealed that the patients with TB and HBV coinfection only treated with anti-tuberculosis therapy tend to drug-induced liver injury, liver damage, and bad clinical response [24]. Furthermore, this study observed that antiviral therapy reduced drug withdrawal incidence and adverse reactions including headache, fever, and gastrointestinal reaction.The liver injury or dysfunction is associated with the detection of a set of serum biomarkers including ALT, AST, ALP, and TBIL [25]. According to the data in this study, the anti-TB group and the antiviral group both demonstrated a significant rise on the ALT, AST, and TBIL after treatment, but the patients in the antiviral group were with much lower level of ALT, AST, and TBIL compared to the patients with antituberculosis therapy only, which revealed that the antiviral therapy with entecavir has significant influence on alleviating the liver injury. These findings were closer to a study about oral obeticholic acid for mice with lipopolysaccharide-induced acute liver injury, and it suggested that the high level of ALT, AST, and TBIL induced by lipopolysaccharide was significantly decreased after obeticholic acid administration [26]. The other research indicated that the severe patients with COVID-19 were with higher growth on the ALT and AST level, but there was a slight difference on TBIL between the severe patients and the mild patients [27].T cells are part of adaptive immunity, which support the normal functions of other parts of the immune system, so as to act as the coordination cells and effector cells of adaptive immunity [28]. It was found that the CD3+ and CD4+ level indicated a significant reduction in the children with TB disease compared to the healthy children [29]. We found that, at 6 months after antiviral therapy, the concentration of CD3+, CD4+, and CD4+/CD8+ T cells was increased, and CD8+ T cells were declined in the anti-TB group and antiviral group. However, these changes in the antiviral group were more significantly compared to the anti-TB group. The intestinal tract is a digestive organ with a variety of microorganisms, including bifidobacteria, lactobacilli, enterobacteria, enterococci, clostridium, and pseudomonas. The intestinal microflora and its products were related to the immune function in intestinal microenvironment [30]. As for the intestinal microflora, we observed that, after treatment, the anti-TB group and antiviral group manifested a rise in the number of bifidobacteria and lactobacilli and a decline in enterobacteria, enterococci, and clostridium quantity. The changes were more significant in the patients in the antiviral group. The above data manifested that the antiviral therapy enhanced the immunity of patients.TNF-α, a cytokine secreted by monocyte macrophage system, is closely relevant with the development of inflammatory diseases such as infection, trauma, autoimmune diseases, and malignant tumors [31]. The previous studies have proved the importance of IL-6 and TNF-α in the immune system [32, 33]. IFN-γ is considered as the crucial cytokine in antitumor immunity due to its cell inhibition, promotion of apoptosis, and antiproliferative functions [34]. Based on the data we analyzed, the higher level of IFN-γ and lower value of TNF-α and IL-6 were observed in the two groups after treatment, but compared to the anti-TB group, the antiviral group showed a higher increase on the IFN-γ, and a significant decline on the TNF-α and IL-6. The antiviral therapy contributed to the relief of inflammatory response in patients with TB and HBV coinfection.In conclusion, compared to the antituberculosis therapy for the patients with TB-HBV coinfection, the additional antiviral therapy with entecavir is helpful to inhibit the replication of HBV and reduce liver damage. In addition, antiviral therapy is associated with the improvement of human immunity and better clinical efficacy.



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*Source: 2884151-2021-11-02.xml*