Study on the cytokines induced from PBMCs of asymptomatic HBV carriers / 第三军医大学学报

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the cellular immune state and pathological mechanism of HBV chronic infection by analyzing the cytokines produced by peripheral blood mononuclear cells(PBMCs) of asymptomatic HBV carriers.Methods PBMCs were prepared from diagnosed chronic asymptomatic HBV individuals and cultured in the presence of different antigens and antibodies.The levels of IFN-?,IL-12,TNF-?,TGF-? and IL-10 in the culture supernatants were respectively detected by ELISA.Results The levels of IFN-?,IL-12 were significantly lower than in the counterparts from healthy controls;meanwhile,those of TGF-? and IL-10 were elevated markedly.Neutralization of TGF-? and IL-10 simultaneously restore the IFN-? production from PBMCs of HBV carriers,and exogenous IL-12 in low dose combined with specific HBV antigens promoted IFN-? production.Conclusion Reduction of IL-12 from PBMCs may be the fundamental reason of viral persistence in HBV chronic carriers,combined IL-12 and specific HBV antigen promoted the celluar immunity of PBMCs from HBV carriers.