Hammad Reham, Eldosoky Mona A, Mosaad Alshaimaa M, El-Nasser Asmaa M, Kotb Fatma M, Elshennawy Salwa I, Eldesoky Noha Abdel-Rahman, Selim Mohamed A, Naguib Gina G, Ahmed Ossama A, Alboraie Mohamed, Aglan Reda Badr
Clinical Pathology Department, Faculty of Medicine (for Girls), Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt.
Hepatogastroenterology and Infectious Diseases Department, Faculty of Medicine for Girls, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt.
J Hepatocell Carcinoma. 2022 Jul 18;9:609-619. doi: 10.2147/JHC.S360886. eCollection 2022.
Natural killer (NK) and B1a cells are implicated in innate immune surveillance against chronic hepatitis C virus (CHCV). NK group 2D (NKG2D) receptor is important for B cell differentiation. This study was designed to assess whether B1a cells and NK Cells expressing NKG2D are implicated in post-hepatitis C infection hepatocellular carcinoma (post-HCV HCC) and cirrhosis using flow cytometry and investigate the association between NK-expressing NKG2D and B1a in complications of CHCV infection.
In this cross-sectional study, 111 participants were included and divided into the post-HCV HCC (n = 50), post-HCV liver cirrhosis (n = 31), and CHCV (n = 30) groups.
The percentage of B1a cells (B1a%) and the mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) of NKG2D (NKG2D MFI) showed a significant increase in the CHCV group compared with those in the post-HCV liver cirrhosis and post-HCV HCC groups ( < 0.05). A positive correlation was observed between NKG2D MFI and B1a% (r = 0.6, < 0.001). The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve revealed that NKG2D MFI and B1a% differentiated between patients with CHCV infection and those with HCC with a sensitivity of 92% and 98%, respectively, and differentiated between patients with CHCV infection and those with liver cirrhosis with a sensitivity of 94% and 90%, respectively.
Downregulation of B1a frequency and NKG2D intensity is implicated in the progression of CHCV infection to cirrhosis and HCC. NKG2D receptor is associated with the frequency of circulating B1a cells. NKG2D intensity and B1a% can be used as indicators of CHCV progression.
自然杀伤（NK）细胞和B1a细胞参与针对慢性丙型肝炎病毒（CHCV）的先天性免疫监视。NK细胞组2D（NKG2D）受体对B细胞分化很重要。本研究旨在使用流式细胞术评估表达NKG2D的B1a细胞和NK细胞是否与丙型肝炎感染后肝细胞癌（HCV感染后HCC）和肝硬化有关，并研究表达NKG2D的NK细胞与B1a细胞在CHCV感染并发症中的关联。
在这项横断面研究中，纳入了111名参与者，并将其分为HCV感染后HCC组（n = 50）、HCV感染后肝硬化组（n = 31）和CHCV组（n = 30）。
与HCV感染后肝硬化组和HCV感染后HCC组相比，CHCV组的B1a细胞百分比（B1a%）和NKG2D的平均荧光强度（NKG2D MFI）显著增加（<0.05）。观察到NKG2D MFI与B1a%之间呈正相关（r = 0.6，<0.001）。受试者工作特征（ROC）曲线显示，NKG2D MFI和B1a%在CHCV感染患者与HCC患者之间进行区分时，敏感性分别为92%和98%；在CHCV感染患者与肝硬化患者之间进行区分时，敏感性分别为94%和90%。
B1a细胞频率和NKG2D强度的下调与CHCV感染进展为肝硬化和HCC有关。NKG2D受体与循环B1a细胞的频率相关。NKG2D强度和B1a%可作为CHCV进展的指标。
