Analysis of CD4~+CD25~+CD127~(low) Regulatory T Cells in Peripheral Blood of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients with HBV Infection

Objective To investigate the level of CD4+CD25+CD127lowregulatory T cells(Tregs) in the peripheralblood of hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) patients with HBV infection and to explore the relationship between these cells andHBV infection. Methods Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were isolated from 41 HCC patients infected with HBV, 34HCC patients without HBV infection and 29 healthy persons. These mononuclear cells were labeled with the monoclonal anti-bodies of CD4, CD25 and CD127, and then Tregs level was determined by flow cytometry(FCM). Moreover, the load of HBVDNA in the blood serum of HCC patients with HBV infection was detected by fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reac-tion(FQ-PCR). Results The percentage of CD4+CD25+CD127lowTregs in CD4+T cells in the HCC patients with HBV infec-tion was higher than that in the HCC patients without HBV infection [(8.24±2.20)% vs(7.06±2.46)%, P0.05] and that in thehealthy persons [(8.24±2.20)% vs(6.51±1.99)%, P 0.01]. Furthermore, the percentage of CD4+CD25+CD127lowTregs inCD4+T cells in the HCC patients without HBV infection was higher than that in the healthy persons [(7.06±2.46)% vs(6.51±1.99)%, P 0.05]. In addition, the level of CD4+CD25+CD127lowTregs in the HCC patients with HBV infection was graduallyincreased following the increase of HBV DNA load and there was a positive correlation between the level of CD4+CD25+CD127lowTregs and the load of HBV DNA(r=0.350,P 0.05). Conclusion The level of CD4+CD25+CD127lowTregs inHCC patients is increased remarkably and associated with the number of HBV DNA copy, which may be an important mecha-nismofimmunologicescape of virus in HCC.