Associations of peripheral CD4+CD25+CD127low/-regulatory T cells with viral load and liver pathology in hepatitis B virus carriers / 中华临床感染病杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the associations of peripheral CD4+ CD25 + CD127low/-regulatory T cells (Treg) with HBV viral load and liver pathology in hepatitis B virus (HBV) carriers.Methods Forty six chronic HBV carriers admitted in the first hospital of Jiaxing during October 2012 and February 2014,and 23 healthy subjects (controls) were enrolled in the study.CD4+ CD25 + CD127low/-Treg in peripheral blood of the two groups were detected by flow cytometry.Ultrasound-guided liver biopsies were performed in chronic HBV carriers and HBV DNA load was determined by real-time PCR method.Independent samples t test was used for the comparison between groups,and Spearman rank correlation or Pearson linear correlation analyses were performed.Results The frequency of the peripheral CD4+ CD25+CD127low/-Treg in 46 HBV carriers was (5.11 ±1.47)％,which was significantly higher than that in healthy controls [(3.46 ± 1.23) ％,t =4.629,P ＜ 0.01].The HBV DNA load in HBV carriers was (6.21 ±1.98)lg copies/mL,which was positively correlated with the CD4+ CD25+ CD127low/-Treg level (r =0.405,P ＜ 0.01).Among 46 HBV carriers,21 (45.65％) were of inflammation grade 2 or above,and 16 (34.78％) were of fibrosis stage 2 or above.Peripheral CD4+ CD25+ CD127low/-Treg level was negatively correlated with inflammation and fibrosis in HBV carriers (r =-0.343 and-0.452,P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion CD4 + CD25 + CD127low/-Treg may be associated with the chronicity of HBV infection and the degree of liver damage.