CD4^＋CD25^＋Foxp3^＋调节性T细胞与慢性乙型肝炎病毒感染的关系

Relationship between CD4^＋ CD25^＋ Foxp3^＋ regulatory T cells and chronic hepatitis B virus infection

目的 探讨调节性T细胞（Treg）在慢性乙型肝炎病毒感染中的免疫调节作用。方法 采用流式细胞术检测慢性活动性肝炎患者、乙型肝炎病毒携带者、乙型肝炎恢复者及健康对照者外周血CIN^＋T细胞中的CIN^＋CD25^＋Foxp3^＋调节性T细胞的比例。采用免疫组织化学法检测肝组织中Foxp3的表达。统计分析外周血中CIN^＋CD25^＋Foxp3^＋调节性T细胞的比例数与血清HBeAg和HBVDNA含量的关系。结果 外周血CIN^＋T细胞中CIN^＋CD25^＋Foxp3^＋调节性T细胞的比例数在慢性活动型肝炎组和乙型肝炎病毒携带组均高于健康对照组（P〈0．05），乙型肝炎病毒携带者组高于乙型肝炎恢复组（P〈0．05）。Foxp3在慢性活动型肝炎组肝组织中的阳性率和阳性细胞数均高于乙型肝炎病毒携带者组（P〈0．05）。外周血HBeAg（＋）患者Treg的比例数高于血清HBeAg（-）患者Treg的比例数（t=1．67．P〈0．05）。患者外周血CIN^＋CD25^＋Foxp3^＋Treg的比例数与血清HBV DNA含量呈正相关（r=0．56，P〈0．01）。结论 CIN^＋CD25^＋Foxp3^＋调节性T细胞可能与乙型肝炎病毒感染慢性化及乙型肝炎病毒的清除有关。

Objective To investigate the role of CD4^＋ CD25^＋ Foxp3^＋ regulatory T cells in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection. Methods Fluorescence activated call sorting（FACS） was used to determined the proportional frequency of CD4^＋ CD25^＋ Foxp3^＋ regulatory T cells in CD4^＋ T cells from peripheral blood mononuclear cells（PBMC） of patients with chronic active hepatitis B （CAH） and asymptomatic HBV carriers （AsC）, healthy controls and individuals with a resolved HBV infection. The expression of Foxp3 was detected in liver tissues by immunohistochemistry. The correlation was analysed statistically between the frequency of CD4^＋ CD25^＋ Foxp3^＋ regulatory T cells from peripheral blood and serum HBeAg and serum HBV load. Results Patients with CAH and AsC exhibited significantly high frequency of CD4^＋ CD25^＋ Foxp3^＋ T cells compared with healthy controls（ P 〈 0.05）. There was significant difference between AsC and individuals with a resolved HBV infection（ P 〈 0.05）. The positive rate of Foxp3 and the number of Foxp3^＋ cells were higher in liver tissues of patients with CAll than that of asypmtomatic HBV carriers （ P 〈 0. 05 ）. Serum HBeAg （ ＋ ） patients had a higher frequency of CD4^＋ CD25^＋ Foxp3^＋ T cells than serum HBeAg（ - ） patients（t = 1. 67, P 〈 0.05）. The frequency of CD4^＋ CD25^＋ Foxp3^＋ T cells in PBMC correlated positively with serum HBV load（ r = 0.56, P 〈 0.01 ）. Conclusion The results suggest the role of CD4^＋ CD25^＋ Foxp3^＋ regulatory T cells in chronicity and viral clearance in chronic hepatitis B virus infection.