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Objective To investigate the clinical characteristics and the distribution of peripheral blood T lymphocyte sub-sets in patients with schistosomal hepatic cirrhosis in Suzhou City. Methods A total of 32 inpatients with liver diseases due to advanced schistosomiasis at the Department of Infectious Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University from January 2016 to January 2018 were recruited and assigned into the infection and non-infection groups according to presence of co-infections, and 20 old healthy volunteers served as controls. Venous blood samples were collected on the day of admission, and the proportions of CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, regulatory T (Treg) cells and Th17 cells were detected in peripheral blood using flow cytometry. Results Most patients with liver disorders due to advanced schistosomiasis were admitted to hospital in Suzhou City because of portal hypertension-associated complications, with a high prevalence of co-infections (59.38%, 19/32). The proportions of peripheral CD4+ and CD8+ T cells and Th17 cells were all significantly lower in patients with liver disorders due to advanced schistosomiasis than in controls (t = −5.111, −4.470 and −2.749, all P < 0.05), and a higher proportion of Treg cells was detected in patients than in controls (t = 5.628, P < 0.05). In addition, there were significant differences among the infection group, non-infection group and controls in terms of the percentage of CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, Th17 cells and Treg cells (F = 15.837, 16.594, 9.290 and 27.866, all P < 0.05). Conclusion Portal hypertension-associated complications are predominantly seen in patients with liver diseases due to advanced schistosomiasis at admission in Suzhou City, and co-infections are common. Imbalance of peripheral T cell subsets is detected in patients with liver diseases due to advanced schistosomiasis in Suzhou City.
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OBJECTIVE@#To evaluate the serum Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) level in Acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) and determine its predicative value for infection.@*METHODS@#From April 2014 to April 2015, ninety-one patients with hepatitis B virus and ACLF but without infection were enrolled into this prospective study that was carried out at our Hospital. Twenty patients with stable chronic hepatitis B were enrolled from the outpatient department and twenty healthy control subjects without any disease were enrolled from hospital staff. Serum PGE2 levels were determined using ELISA at enrollment. Clinical and laboratory parameters were collected. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to determine optimal cut-off values to predict infection.@*RESULTS@#Significantly higher PGE2 levels were found in patients with ACLF in comparison with healthy controls and patients with stable CHB (P < 0.0001). In ACLF patients, PGE2 levels were significantly higher in patients that eventually developed infection than those without this complication (P < 0.0001). ROC analysis showed that serum PGE2 (area under the ROC curve, 0.83) could predict infection in patients with ACLF with sensitivity of 78.4% and specificity of 81.5% using a threshold of 141 pg/mL.@*CONCLUSIONS@#Serum PGE2 is associated with the susceptibility to secondary infections for patients with ACLF. Increased PGE2 serum levels may serve as a potential biomarker for developing infections in ACLF patients.
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Objective To evaluate the serum Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) level in Acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) and determine its predicative value for infection. Methods From April 2014 to April 2015, ninety-one patients with hepatitis B virus and ACLF but without infection were enrolled into this prospective study that was carried out at our Hospital. Twenty patients with stable chronic hepatitis B were enrolled from the outpatient department and twenty healthy control subjects without any disease were enrolled from hospital staff. Serum PGE2 levels were determined using ELISA at enrollment. Clinical and laboratory parameters were collected. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to determine optimal cut-off values to predict infection. Results Significantly higher PGE2 levels were found in patients with ACLF in comparison with healthy controls and patients with stable CHB (P < 0.000 1). In ACLF patients, PGE2 levels were significantly higher in patients that eventually developed infection than those without this complication (P < 0.000 1). ROC analysis showed that serum PGE2 (area under the ROC curve, 0.83) could predict infection in patients with ACLF with sensitivity of 78.4% and specificity of 81.5% using a threshold of 141 pg/mL. Conclusions Serum PGE2 is associated with the susceptibility to secondary infections for patients with ACLF. Increased PGE2 serum levels may serve as a potential biomarker for developing infections in ACLF patients.
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<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the relationship between the gene mutations of mannose binding protein(MBP) and the progression of hepatitis B.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The MBP gene mutations in 52 patients with chronic hepatitis B and 62 patients with severe hepatitis B and 64 HBsAg-negative healthy controls were investigated. The mutations in MBP gene were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and direct DNA sequencing.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>A mutation of MBP gene codon 54 was found. The mutation frequency in the group of severe hepatitis B (35.5%, 22/62) was higher than those in the chronic hepatitis B group (15.4%, 8/52) and the HBsAg-negative healthy controls(14.1%, 9/64), respectively, and their difference was significant (chi-square was 7.79, P< 0.01; chi-square was 5.89,lzP<0.05). The difference between the chronic hepatitis B group and the HBsAg-negative healthy control group was not significant (P > 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>There is only mutation in codon 54 of the MBP gene in patients with hepatitis B infection in the area analyzed. Codon 54 mutation of MBP gene is not related to the persistence of hepatitis B, but it was associated with the progression of hepatitis B infection.</p>