Correlation between the expression of CD_(28)on T-lymphocyte and virus load in peripheral blood of patients with hepatitis B

Objective To analyze the correlation between the expression of CD28 on T-lymphocyte and virus load in peripheral blood of chronic hepatitis B patients and HBV carriers with HBeAg-positive. Methods Peripheral blood samples were collected from healthy individuals(n=20), HBV carriers(n=21) and patients with chronic hepatitis B(n=22). After marked with the specific fluorescent antibodies, CD4+and CD8+and CD4+CD28+and CD8+CD28+T lymphocytes were detected using two or three-color flow cytometry. Meanwhile, serum ALT and hepatitis B virus(HBV)viral loads were evaluated. Results The percentages of CD4+CD28+and CD8+CD28+T lymphocyte subsets were significantly higher in healthy individuals than those in chronic patients and HBV carriers(P0.05). The percentage of CD8+CD28+T lymphocyte subset was lower in the patients with high replication of HBV-DNA(more than 107copies/L) than those with low HBV replication(P0.05). Conclusion The lower expression of CD28 on the CD8+T lymphocytes is related to the high HBV virus load in patients with chronic HBV infection.