Expression of programmed death type-1 on CD4~+and CD8~+ T cells in peripheral blood of chronic hepatitis B patients with different immune status

Objective To detect the programmed death type-1(PD-1) expression on CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in peripheral blood of chronic hepatitis B(CHB) patients with different immune status and investigate its relationship with HBV DNA loads and ALT levels.Methods Blood samples were colleted from CHB patients in the immune-tolerance phase(group A,24 cases),in the immune-reactive phase(group B,64 cases),with HBeAg-negative(group C,23 cases) and 11 healthy people(group D) for detecting the expression levels of PD-1 on total CD4+and CD8+ T cells by flow cytometry.HBV DNA loads were determined by real-time fluorescent quantitative-PCR and ALT levels were examined as well.Results PD-1 expressions on CD4+ and CD8+ T cells were higher in groups of B and C than those in groups of A and D(P0.05).PD-1 expression on CD8+ T cells was higher in group C than that in group B(P0.05).Correlation analysis showed that expression levels of PD-1 on CD4+ and CD8+ T cells were not correlated with HBV DNA loads or serum ALT levels.Conclusion The expression of PD-1 on peripheral blood T cells is closely related to the immune status of CHB patients.The liver inflammation,but not serum HBV DNA loads,is the important factor to influence the expression levels of PD-1 on T cells.