Inserm, U1043, Toulouse, F-31300, France; CNRS, U5282, Toulouse, F-31300, France; CHU Toulouse, Hôpital Purpan, Laboratoire de virologie, Centre National de Référence Hépatite E, Institut fédératif de biologie de Purpan, F-31300, Toulouse, France; Université Toulouse, UPS, Centre de Physiopathologie de Toulouse (CPTP), F-31300, Toulouse, France.
Inserm, U1043, Toulouse, F-31300, France; CNRS, U5282, Toulouse, F-31300, France; Université Toulouse, UPS, Centre de Physiopathologie de Toulouse (CPTP), F-31300, Toulouse, France.
J Infect. 2016 Jun;72(6):723-730. doi: 10.1016/j.jinf.2016.02.016. Epub 2016 Mar 4.
The hepatitis E virus (HEV) causes usually benign and spontaneously resolving acute hepatitis in immunocompetent individuals. In immunocompromised patients with a solid-organ transplant (SOT), chronic infections occur in about 2/3 of cases. We aimed to evaluate the immune cells implicated at the acute phase of HEV infection.
We studied the activation and memory markers on CD4, CD8, γδ and NK cells in 32 HEV-free control SOT patients and 23 SOT recipients, including 14 who became chronically infected. Samples from 7 immunocompetent individuals with an acute infection and 8 healthy donor samples were included for comparison.
In acutely-infected SOT patients, NK and Vδ2 cells, but not other γδ cells, had an increased expression of CD69. Based on CD45RA/CD27 markers, solid-organ recipients infected with HEV contained a larger pool of circulating naive subsets among lymphocyte Tγδ cells. However, these alterations of Vδ2 cells were not associated with HEV clearance. Only the adaptive IFN-γ responses to HEV peptides, determined by ELISpot, were associated with a favorable outcome in immunocompromised patients.
Transplanted patients mobilized their γδ cells at the acute phase of infection. Their precise role in HEV infection will thus deserve further investigations as they could be specifically immunomanipulated.
戊型肝炎病毒（HEV）通常在免疫功能正常的个体中引起良性和自发缓解的急性肝炎。在实体器官移植（SOT）的免疫功能低下患者中，约有 2/3 的患者发生慢性感染。我们旨在评估 HEV 感染急性期涉及的免疫细胞。
我们研究了 32 名无 HEV 的 SOT 对照患者和 23 名 SOT 受者（包括 14 名慢性感染者）中 CD4、CD8、γδ 和 NK 细胞的激活和记忆标志物。为了比较，还纳入了 7 名免疫功能正常的急性感染个体和 8 名健康供体样本。
在急性感染的 SOT 患者中，NK 和 Vδ2 细胞而非其他 γδ 细胞表达 CD69 的增加。基于 CD45RA/CD27 标志物，感染 HEV 的 SOT 受者在淋巴细胞 Tγδ 细胞中含有更大的循环幼稚亚群池。然而，这些 Vδ2 细胞的改变与 HEV 清除无关。只有通过 ELISpot 测定的针对 HEV 肽的适应性 IFN-γ 反应与免疫功能低下患者的良好预后相关。
移植患者在感染急性期动员其 γδ 细胞。因此，它们在 HEV 感染中的具体作用值得进一步研究，因为它们可以被特异性免疫调节。
