BMC Infectious Diseases (Aug 2020)

The reduction in CD8+PD-1+ T cells in liver histological tissue is related to Pegylated IFN-α therapy outcomes in chronic hepatitis B patients

  • Ruyu Liu,
  • Yanhui Chen,
  • Jiang Guo,
  • Minghui Li,
  • Yao Lu,
  • Lu Zhang,
  • Ge Shen,
  • Shuling Wu,
  • Min Chang,
  • Leiping Hu,
  • Hongxiao Hao,
  • Henghui Zhang,
  • Yao Xie

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12879-020-05320-z
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 20, no. 1
pp. 1 – 10

Abstract

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Abstract Background Antiviral therapy is recommended for patients with immune-active chronic hepatitis B (CHB) to decrease the risk of liver-related complications. However, the outcomes of the pegylated IFN-α (PEG-IFN-α) therapy vary among CHB patients. We aimed to identify factors that can influence the outcomes in CHB patients who received antiviral PEG-IFN-α monotherapy. Methods Thirty-two CHB patients who received PEG-IFN-α monotherapy were enrolled in this study. All of the patients underwent two liver biopsies at baseline and 6 months after the initiation of the therapy. CD8+ T cells, CD4+ T cells, CD68+ mononuclear cells, and PD-1 levels in the 64 liver biopsy specimens were examined via immunofluorescence. Results The overall median frequency of CD8+ T cells in the liver tissues of 32 CHB patients significantly decreased at 6 months after the therapy initiation (p < 0.01). In the FIER (fibrosis and inflammation response with HBeAg seroconversion) group, CD8+PD-1+ T cells significantly decreased at 6 months (p < 0.05), while CD8+PD-1− T cells had no significant difference. On the contrary, in the FIENR (no fibrosis and inflammation response and HBeAg seroconversion) group, CD8+PD-1− T cells significantly decreased after 6 months of PEG-IFN-α treatment (p < 0.05), while CD8+PD-1+ T cells had no significant difference. In addition, the levels of CD68+ mononuclear cells in the FIER group showed an overall increasing trend after treatment (p < 0.05). Conclusions The changes in the levels of CD8+PD-1+ T cells and CD68+ mononuclear cells may be related to the response to PEG-IFN-α therapy.

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