Decrease in γδV 2T cells correlates with severity of liver injury and fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B / 中华肝脏病杂志

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the characteristics and clinical significance of changes in gamma delta T cells in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB), including during the immune tolerant (IT) phase and the immune activated (IA) phase.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Flow cytometry was used to analyze the frequencies and absolute numbers of γ&delta;T cells and their subsets in peripheral blood and in liver from 80 CHB cases, including 20 IT carriers and 60 IA patients. Blood samples were obtained from all CHB cases and 5 healthy controls (HCs). Liver biopsies were collected from 22 IA patients and 5 IT carriers undergoing diagnosis, and from the 5 HCs.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compared to HCs and IT carriers, the IA patients displayed significantly lower levels of peripheral and intrahepatic γ&delta;T cells as well as the V&delta;2 subsets. The levels of peripheral and intrahepatic Vγ&delta;T cells were closely associated with the liver histological activity index and serum alanine aminotransferase levels.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>γ&delta;T cells, especially the V&delta;2 subsets, may play a protective role in decreasing liver damage in CHB patients.</p>