title: Phenotypic and functional status of intrahepatic T cells in chronic hepatitis C.
abstract: Polychromatic flow-cytometric assays were used to analyze paired intrahepatic and peripheral lymphocyte samples from 37 patients with chronic hepatitis C. Compared with peripheral cells, intrahepatic T cells were selectively enriched with CD45RO+ memory T cells but had a lower percentage of CD4+ T cells expressing the differentiation markers CD27 and CD28. The percentage of intrahepatic CD45RO+ and CD28+ T cells correlated with the degree of liver inflammation, which suggests that memory T cells at relatively early stages of differentiation are directly involved in liver inflammation. Despite their memory phenotype, intrahepatic T cells were defective in proliferation capability, produced less interferon- gamma in response to stimulation by T cell receptor, and contained less perforin but expressed higher levels of Fas and Fas ligand, compared with their counterparts in peripheral blood. The distinct characteristics of intrahepatic T cells suggest that they play an important role in the immunopathogenesis of chronic hepatitis C.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Jinhui
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Tyson H
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Holmes
authors.forename: Laura Ladron
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: de Guevara
authors.forename: Ramsey
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cheung
authors.forename: Teresa L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Wright
authors.forename: Xiao-Song
authors.initials: XS
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Harry B
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Greenberg
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D018106:CD28 Antigens / Q000032:analysis / Q000276:immunology; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007156:Immunologic Memory; D017493:Leukocyte Common Antigens / Q000032:analysis / Q000276:immunology; D008099:Liver / Q000166:cytology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010641:Phenotype; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology*
chemical_list: D018106:CD28 Antigens; D017493:Leukocyte Common Antigens