一种新的免疫活性细胞(IPCs)在慢性乙型肝炎患者中的检测

Detection of interferon - producing cells in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection

[摘要] 目的 近年来研究发现了一种在人的外周血中专职产生α/β干扰素的免疫活性细胞,即'干扰素产生细胞(IPCs).IPCs在外周血中产生干扰素的量是其他产生干扰素细胞的200～1 000倍.因此可以说IPCs是体内IFN的专职产生细胞.

Objective To investigate the characteristics of professional interferon - producing cells (IPCs) from peripheral blood origin in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection in order that define if there are decrease in number and function of IPCs in persistent hepatitis B infected patients. Methods The quantitative alterations of IPCs in twenty - five chronic HBV - infected patients as treated group and fourteen healthy individuals as a control group were analyzed by using flow cytometry. Results The percentage of IPCs from the peripheral blood in chronic HBV - infected patients was signifi- cantly lower than the number in normal controls (P< 0. 001 ) while the percentage of IPCs was higher in the patients with positive HBV DNA in the serum than data in patients with negative HBV DNA the serum (P<0. 01 ). A negative correlation was found between the IPC number in the blood and the ALT levels in those patients. Conclusion This study pro- vides the first evidence that the decrease of IPCs level from peripheral blood in patients with chronicity of hepatitis B virus infection may have a significant cor- relation to the development of HBV - infected disease and replication of viral genomic DNA in patient's serum. Their association and precise mechanism of IPCs influencing the disease progression of HBV - in- fected patients remain to be further clarified.