Significant elevation of B cells at the acute stage in enterovirus 71-infected children with central nervous system involvement.
A feature of the large outbreak of human enterovirus 71 (EV71)-associated hand-foot-and-mouth (HFMD) disease in China in 2008 was that severe cases presented with encephalitis. This study was performed to evaluate the immunophenotypic characteristics of patients with neurological involvement. Twenty-one patients with encephalitis and 14 with uncomplicated HFMD were recruited. Age-matched healthy volunteers were enrolled as controls. Peripheral lymphocyte subsets were analyzed by use of 3-colour flow cytometry, and the quantitative determination of plasma immunoglobulin (Ig) levels was also monitored. Comparisons between severe and mild cases demonstrated significant elevations of B cells and IgG levels and corresponding general decreases in natural killer (NK) cells and T lymphocytes in severe cases at the acute stage of infection (p < 0.01 for all). During the convalescent phase, rapid recoveries of B cells and IgG to the normal levels were observed, which appeared to be accompanied by an increase in EV71-specific neutralizing antibody titres. In summary, our data demonstrate that elevated B cells and IgG might be associated with neurological manifestations in EV71 infection.
Xie
Jing
J
Department of Infectious Diseases, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
Jiao
Yang
Y
Qiu
Zhifeng
Z
Li
Qihan
Q
Li
Taisheng
T
D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D002493:Central Nervous System Diseases / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D029821:Enterovirus A, Human / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004769:Enterovirus Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006232:Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D007223:Infant; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology
D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D007074:Immunoglobulin G