Hetta Helal F, Mekky Mohamed A, Zahran Asmaa M, Abdel-Malek Mohamed O, Ramadan Haidi K, Shafik Engy A, Abbas Wael A, Abbas El-Masry Muhammad, Mohamed Nahed A, Kamel Amira A, Marraiki Najat, Beshbishy Amany Magdy, Batiha Gaber El-Saber, Osman Heba A, Koneru Gopala, El-Mokhtar Mohamed A
Department of Internal Medicine, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45267-0595, USA.
Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut 71515, Egypt.
Vaccines (Basel). 2020 Jul 11;8(3):380. doi: 10.3390/vaccines8030380.
Although regulatory B cells (Bregs) have been proven to play a suppressive role in autoimmune diseases, infections and different tumors, little is known regarding hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), especially in hepatitis C-related settings. Herein, we analyzed the frequency of circulating Bregs, serum levels of IL-10, IL-35 and B-cell activating factor (BAFF) and investigated their association with regulatory T cells (Tregs) and disease progression in HCV-related HCC. For comparative purposes, four groups were enrolled; chronic HCV (CHC group, n = 35), HCV-related liver cirrhosis (HCV-LC group, n = 35), HCV-related HCC (HCV-HCC group, n = 60) and an apparently healthy control (Control-group, n = 20). HCC diagnosis and staging were in concordance with the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) staging system. Analysis of the percentage of Breg cells and peripheral lymphocyte subsets (Treg) was performed by flow cytometry. Serum cytokine levels of IL-10, IL-35 and B-cell activating factor (BAFF) were measured by ELISA. The frequency of Bregs was significantly higher in the HCV-HCC group compared to the other groups and controls. A significant increase was noted in late-HCC versus those in the early stages. The frequency of Bregs was positively correlated with Tregs, serum IL-10, IL-35 and BAFF. In conclusion, Peripheral Bregs were positively correlated with the frequency of Tregs, IL-10, IL-35 and BAFF, and may be associated with HCV-related HCC progression.
尽管调节性B细胞（Bregs）已被证明在自身免疫性疾病、感染和不同肿瘤中发挥抑制作用，但关于肝细胞癌（HCC），尤其是在丙型肝炎相关情况下，人们了解甚少。在此，我们分析了循环Bregs的频率、白细胞介素-10（IL-10）、白细胞介素-35（IL-35）和B细胞活化因子（BAFF）的血清水平，并研究了它们与丙型肝炎病毒（HCV）相关HCC中调节性T细胞（Tregs）及疾病进展的关联。为作比较，纳入了四组；慢性HCV（CHC组，n = 35）、HCV相关肝硬化（HCV-LC组，n = 35）、HCV相关HCC（HCV-HCC组，n = 60）和明显健康对照（对照组，n = 20）。HCC的诊断和分期与巴塞罗那临床肝癌（BCLC）分期系统一致。通过流式细胞术分析Breg细胞和外周淋巴细胞亚群（Tregs）的百分比。采用酶联免疫吸附测定法（ELISA）检测血清中IL-10、IL-35和B细胞活化因子（BAFF）的细胞因子水平。与其他组和对照组相比，HCV-HCC组中Bregs的频率显著更高。晚期HCC与早期HCC相比有显著增加。Bregs的频率与Tregs、血清IL-10、IL-35和BAFF呈正相关。总之，外周Bregs与Tregs、IL-10、IL-35和BAFF的频率呈正相关，可能与HCV相关HCC的进展有关。
