PD-1/PD-L1 expressions in liver tissues of patients with chronic HBV infection / 中华肝脏病杂志

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To detect and compare the PD-1/PD-L1 (programmed death 1/programmed death 1 ligand) expressions in the liver tissues of chronic HBV infection patients in immune tolerant phase and those in immune clearance phase.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Liver biopsy samples were divided into two groups 25 samples from patients in immune clearance phase and 19 samples from patients in immune tolerant phase. PD-1/PD-L1 expressions on T lymphocytes in these liver biopsy specimens were detected by immunohistochemistry method. Percentage of PD-1/PD-L1 positive cells among CD3 positive cells was calculated by semi-quantitative evaluation. Differences between the two groups were statistically analyzed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>PD-1/PD-L1 expressions were significantly higher in the patients in immune tolerant phase as compared to that in immune active phase (P < 0.05). No statistical difference found between the two groups for PD-L1 expression in Kupffer cells (P > 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>PD-1/PD-L1 expression level can reflect the immune functions of chronic hepatitis B patients.</p>