Th17细胞在乙型肝炎病毒相关性肝病中的表达及意义

Expression of Th17 cells in patients with hepatitis B virus-associated liver disease and its significance

目的探讨Th17细胞在乙型肝炎病毒(HBV)相关性肝病中的表达及相互关系。方法收集慢性乙型肝炎(CHB)患者21例(CHB组)、HBV相关性肝硬化患者36例(LC组)及健康对照者20例(HC组)。应用流式细胞术检测外周血Th17细胞频率;酶联免疫吸附测定(ELISA)检测血浆白细胞介素17(IL-17)水平;实时荧光定量PCR法检测肝组织中IL-17mRNA的表达;免疫组织化学染色检测肝脏组织中α-平滑肌肌动蛋白(α-SMA)的表达和分布。结果 LC和CHB组外周血单个核细胞(PBMC)中Th17细胞频率、血浆IL-17水平均明显高于HC组(P<0.01),且外周血中Th17频率与对应血浆IL-17水平呈正相关(r=0.430、0.660,P=0.009、0.001);LC组患者肝组织中IL-17mRNA水平、α-SMA表达量均明显高于HC组(P<0.01),且α-SMA的表达与肝脏炎症程度(r=0.602,P=0.014)和纤维化分期(r=0.506,P=0.045)呈正相关。结论 Th17细胞可能参与了HBV相关性肝硬化的发生和发展。

Objective To explore the expression of Th17 cells in the patients with hepatitis B virus（HBV）-associated liver disease and its mutual relation.Methods 21 patients with chronic hepatitis B（CHB）,36 patients with HBV-associated liver cirrhosis（LC）and 20 healthy controls（HC）were collected.The flow cytometry was employed to determine the Th17 frequency in peripheral blood;the plasma interleukin-17（IL-17）level was measured by the enzyme linked immunosorbent assay（ELISA）;the real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR was used to determine the expression of IL-17 mRNA in liver tissue;the immunohistochemical method was used to measure the expression and distribution ofα-smooth muscle actin（α-SMA）in liver tissue.Results The peripheral blood mononuclear cell Th17 frequencies and plasma levels of IL-17 in the LC and CHB groups were significantly higher than those in the HC group（P〈0.01）,moreover the peripheral blood Th17 cells frequency was positively correlated with corresponding plasma IL-17 level in the LC group（r=0.430,P=0.009）and the CHB group（r=0.660,P=0.001）;the liver tissue IL-17 mRNA andα-SMA expression levels in the LC group were significantly higher than those in the HC group（P〈0.01）,moreover the expression ofα-SMA was positively correlated with the degree of hepatic inflammation（r=0.602,P=0.014）and the stage of hepatic fibrosis（r=0.506,P=0.045）.Conclusion Th17 cells could be involved in the occurrence and development of HBV-associated liver disease.