T helper, cytotoxic T lymphocyte, NK cell and NK-T cell subpopulations in patients with chronic hepatitis C

摘要

The phenotype of intrahepatic (IHL) and peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) was determined, and the production of cytokines by T lymphocytes analyzed in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC). Three-color fluorescence-activated cytometric analysis was done for 36 patients with untreated CHC. The percentage of peripheral blood memory T cells was higher in patients with CHC than in healthy controls (all data in %, significant atp<0.001; 74.6±2.7vs. 58.3±4.5), and a greater proportion of them were observed in the intrahepatic compartment (IHL—94.2±2.8vs. PBL—74.6±2.7). There was a higher percentage of peripheral blood T helper 1 lymphocytes expressing IFN-γ (IFN-γ/IL-4) in these patients (4.6±0.7vs. control—2.2±0.5). The expression of CXCR3 chemokine receptors on peripheral blood T helper cells was also high compared with the control (39.8±4.8vs. 26.8±2.5) and a large percentage of T cells expressing CXCR3 or CCR5 chemokine receptors was observed in hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected liver (CXCR3: IHLvs. PBL—74.9±5.7vs. 39.8±4.8; CCR5: IHLvs. PBL—65.9±5.9vs. 19.1±2.1). The intrahepatic compartment contains a greater proportion of activated cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) and natural killer-T (NK-T) cells than peripheral blood (CTL: IHLvs. PBL—69.5±3.2vs. 59.9±3.1; NK-T: IHLvs. PBL— 10.6±2.5vs. PBL: 3.99±0.5). The data suggest that in HCV-infected subjects, memory TH1 lymphocytes, activated CTL and NK-T cells compartmentalize in liver tissue and could play an important role in pathogenesis of chronic hepatitis.