Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
Dig Liver Dis. 2011 Oct;43(10):807-13. doi: 10.1016/j.dld.2011.04.020.
Hepatitis C virus infection frequently leads to chronic hepatitis, possibly evolving to end-stage liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma. Regulatory T cells can affect antiviral immune response thus influencing the outcome of the disease.
To determine numeric and functional distribution of regulatory T cells expressing CD4+CD25hiFoxp3+ (T-regs) during the different stages of hepatitis C virus-related liver disease.
90 hepatitis C viraemic patients and 50 healthy controls were included. Surface and intracellular (Foxp3) T-reg markers were evaluated by flow cytometry. Target cell proliferation and interferon-gamma production were evaluated in 37 HCV patients. In 16 cases intrahepatic distribution of Foxp3 by immuno-histochemistry was assessed.
T-regs were increased in hepatitis C virus infected patients and correlated inversely with aminotransferases and directly with MELD score and disease duration. A preserved inhibitory ability of interferon-gamma production was distinctive of patients with normal aminotransferases. Circulating T-regs did not correlate with intrahepatic distribution of Foxp3.
In chronic hepatitis C, selective expansion of peripheral T-regs in patients with normal aminotransferases and advanced disease suggests that, though a continual low level inflammation does not prevent liver disease progression, once cirrhosis has developed it may represent an attempt to prevent immuno-mediated decompensation.
丙型肝炎病毒感染常导致慢性肝炎，可能进展为终末期肝病和肝细胞癌。调节性 T 细胞可影响抗病毒免疫反应，从而影响疾病的结局。
确定丙型肝炎病毒相关肝病不同阶段表达 CD4+CD25hiFoxp3+（Treg）的调节性 T 细胞的数量和功能分布。
纳入 90 例丙型肝炎病毒血症患者和 50 例健康对照者。采用流式细胞术检测表面和细胞内（Foxp3）Treg 标志物。对 37 例丙型肝炎病毒患者的靶细胞增殖和干扰素-γ产生进行评估。在 16 例病例中，通过免疫组织化学评估 Foxp3 的肝内分布。
丙型肝炎病毒感染患者的 Treg 增加，与氨基转移酶呈负相关，与 MELD 评分和疾病持续时间呈正相关。干扰素-γ产生抑制能力正常的患者具有独特的特征。循环 Treg 与 Foxp3 的肝内分布不相关。
在慢性丙型肝炎中，正常氨基转移酶和晚期疾病患者外周 Treg 的选择性扩增表明，尽管持续低水平炎症不能阻止肝病进展，但一旦发生肝硬化，可能代表试图预防免疫介导的失代偿。
