Expression of phosphoinositide 3-kinase, mammalian target of rapamycin, 70-kDa ribosomal protein S6 kinase, and interferon-α in umbilical cord blood plasmacytoid dendritic cells in parturients in the immune tolerance stage of hepatitis B virus infection versus normal parturients / 临床肝胆病杂志

ABSTRACT

ObjectiveTo investigate the expression of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), 70-kDa ribosomal protein S6 kinase (p70S6K), and interferon-α (IFNα) in umbilical cord blood plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) in parturients in the immune tolerance stage of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection versus normal parturients. MethodsA total of 20 parturients in the immune tolerance stage of HBV infection and 10 normal parturients who were hospitalized in Inpatient Department of Obstetrics in The First Affiliated Hospital of Hunan University of Chinese Medicine from October 2017 to January 2020 were enrolled as hepatitis B group and normal group, respectively. Umbilical cord blood pDCs were isolated and cultured, and CpG-A was added on day 7. The cells and the supernatant were collected after 24 hours; real-time PCR was used to measure the mRNA expression of PI3K, mTOR, and p70S6K, Western Blot was used to measure the protein expression of PI3K, mTOR, and p70S6K, and ELISA was used to measure the level of IFNα in the supernatant of pDCs. The two-independent-samples t-test was used for comparison of continuous data between the two groups. ResultsCompared with the normal group, the hepatitis B group had significantly lower mRNA and protein expression of PI3K, mTOR, and p70S6K in umbilical cord blood pDCs (mRNA expression t=-81.04, -63.07, and -34.55, all P＜0.001; protein expression t=-8.13, -7.75, and -6.71, all P＜0.001). The hepatitis B group had significantly lower expression of IFNα in the supernatant of umbilical cord blood pDCs than the normal group (t=-15.88, P＜0.05). ConclusionParturients in the immune tolerance stage of HBV infection have reductions in the mRNA and protein expression of PI3K, mTOR, and p70S6K and the level of IFNα in umbilical cord blood pDCs, suggesting that pDC function is inhibited.