Impairment in the response of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from asymptomatic hepatitis B virus carriers to estradiol.

Sex hormones are known to affect the immune system. Asymptomatic hepatitis B virus (HBV) carriers are thought to be immunologically tolerant to HBV, but in some HBV carriers, the immune response to HBV is induced, especially in females during their sexually-mature periods. This may be caused by the effects of estrogens on the immune system. In this study, we found that the level of estradiol receptors in the cytosol of peripheral blood mononuclear cells was significantly lower in asymptomatic HBV carriers compared to healthy controls. This suggests that in asymptomatic HBV carriers, antibody production of peripheral blood mononuclear cells was lower compared to that of healthy controls as a result of the low level of estradiol receptors.