Anthony D D, Post A B, Valdez H, Peterson D L, Murphy M, Heeger P S
Department of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA.
Clin Immunol. 2001 May;99(2):232-40. doi: 10.1006/clim.2001.5018.
An improved ability to monitor hepatitis C virus (HCV)-specific T cell immunity in infected patients may provide novel information regarding the pathogenesis and prognosis of this infection. We used an ELISPOT assay to analyze a cross-section of HCV-infected humans. HCV-infected patients without cirrhosis, those with cirrhosis, and controls with other liver diseases were tested for recall responses to HCV Core and NS3 proteins. Peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) from HCV-infected patients without cirrhosis responded to NS3 and Core proteins, producing predominantly IFN-gamma, with little IL-4 or IL-5. In contrast, PBLs from HCV-infected patients with cirrhosis responded to NS3, but not to the Core protein, suggesting a selectively altered immune state during cirrhosis. Our data provide support for the notion that HCV-specific IFN-gamma-producing immunity is important in the pathogenesis of progressing HCV-related disease.
提高监测丙型肝炎病毒（HCV）感染患者特异性T细胞免疫的能力，可能会为这种感染的发病机制和预后提供新的信息。我们使用酶联免疫斑点分析（ELISPOT）来分析一组HCV感染的人群。对无肝硬化的HCV感染患者、肝硬化患者以及患有其他肝脏疾病的对照组进行检测，观察其对HCV核心蛋白和NS3蛋白的回忆反应。无肝硬化的HCV感染患者的外周血淋巴细胞（PBL）对NS3和核心蛋白有反应，主要产生γ干扰素，几乎没有白细胞介素-4或白细胞介素-5。相比之下，肝硬化的HCV感染患者的PBL对NS3有反应，但对核心蛋白无反应，这表明肝硬化期间免疫状态发生了选择性改变。我们的数据支持了这样一种观点，即HCV特异性产生γ干扰素的免疫在进展性HCV相关疾病的发病机制中很重要。
