Peripheral blood lymphocytes subpopulations in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) infection

Category: Hepatology Aims: Previous studies have shown that intrahepatic CD4 +and CD8 + T cell responses are less vigorous in individuals who develop chronic infection while intraheaptic CD56 + CD3 + (NK T) cell populations may be expanded. Our aim was to investigate the numbers and phenotypes of peripheral lymphocyte subsets in CHB patients. Methods: Flow cytometry. Results: The study group comprised eAg -CHB (n=19), eAg + CHB (n=3) and HBsAg – cAb -sAb +(n=10). The proportions of T cells, B cells and natural killer cells (NK) were similar in patients and controls. Analysis of T cell subsets revealed no differences in the proportions that expressed CD8 +, CD4 +, CD56 + (NK T), CD4 -CD8 -(DN) or CD4 +CD8 +(DP) phenotypes. However when the HBsAg + group was subdivided on the basis of ALT>35iu/L a significant increase in NK T cells was seen, 6.67±1.72 vs. controls 2.3±0.48 (p