[Analysis of T cell receptor BV dominant usage and CDR3 sequences during acute exacerbation in patients with chronic hepatitis B].
OBJECTIVE
To understand the role cellular immunology plays in the pathogenesis of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) through analysis of T cell receptor (TCR) beta chain variable region gene (BV) family dominant usage and beta chain complementarity determining region3 (CDR3) sequences of peripheral blood mononuclear cells of the patients.


METHODS
TCR BV families were amplified by inverse polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and the dominant usage of BV families and CDR3 repertoire were analyzed by immunoscope technology for 8 CHB patients during their acute exacerbations and for 4 healthy blood donors who served as controls. The clonality of the T cells suspected by immunoscope was further confirmed by CDR3 sequencing.


RESULTS
The TCR BV CDR3 repertoire of the 4 healthy blood donors showed a Gaussian distribution. In the 8 CHB patients, however, the clonal expansion of T cells showed different TCR BV families with each patient. The T cells of the clonal expansion shared different CDR3 sequences.


CONCLUSIONS
The peripheral blood T cells of CHB patients during their acute exacerbation showed significantly a clonal expansion and their T cell clonal expansion may be stimulated by several HBV epitopes. These results indicate that cellular immunology is involved in the pathogenesis of the liver inflammation process of CHB.
Zhang
Guang-wen
GW
Department of Infectious Diseases, Nanfang Hospital of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China.
Yao
Xin-sheng
XS
Ma
Shi-wu
SW
Yang
Chuang-guo
CG
Yu
Yue-cheng
YC
Hou
Jin-lin
JL
D000328:Adult; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D022801:Complementarity Determining Regions / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D015333:Gene Rearrangement, beta-Chain T-Cell Antigen Receptor / Q000235:genetics; D019694:Hepatitis B, Chronic / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell / Q000235:genetics*
D022801:Complementarity Determining Regions; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell