Variation of helper T cell 9/regular T cell balance in the inflammatory process of hepatitis B virus infection and its significance / 中华传染病杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To observe the variation of helper T cell (Th)9/regular T cell (Treg cell) balance in the inflammatory process of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection.Methods Two hundred patients with chronic HBV infection in Zhejiang Hospital of Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine during August 2011 to June 2012 were divided into four groups according to alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels.:chronic HBV carriers,chronic hepatitis B (CHB) with mildly [upper limit of normal (ULN)＜ALT＜3 × ULN],moderately (3 × ULN＜ALT＜5 × ULN),or significantly (ALT＞5 × ULN) elevated ALT,with 50 subjects in each group.In addition,30 healthy volunteers were enrolled as healthy controls (HC).ALT levels,HBV DNA,and Th9/Treg levels were measured by automatic biochemical analyzing equipment,real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction and flow cytometry,respectively.Th9/Treg levels of each group were observed.Means between groups were compared by t test,means of multiple groups were compared by one-way analysis of variance.Spearman rank correlation was used for correlation analysis.Results Age,sex distribution and HBV DNA levels of the four groups were comparable (P＞0.05).ALT levels of HC were significantly different from those of mildly,moderately,or significantly elevated ALT (t=8.48,18.41,28.93; all P＜0.05).Th9 cell levels,Treg cell levels and Th9/Treg ratio of HBV infected individuals were significantly different from those of HC (P＜0.05).With the increasing degree of inflammation,proportion of Th9 cells increased and Treg cells decreased gradually.The differences among the four groups were of statistical significance (P＜ 0.05).Th9 cell level was positively correlated with ALT (r=0.804,P=0.01),while Treg cell level was negatively correlated with ALT (r=-0.828,P=0.01).Conclusions Th9/Treg is imbalanced in patients with HBV infection,and closely correlated with ALT levels.