title: Intrahepatic natural killer T cell populations are increased in human hepatic steatosis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine if natural killer T cell (NKT) populations are affected in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients undergoing bariatric surgery underwent liver biopsy and blood sampling during surgery. The biopsy was assessed for steatosis and immunocyte infiltration. Intrahepatic lymphocytes (IHLs) were isolated from the remainder of the liver biopsy, and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were isolated from the blood. Expression of surface proteins on both IHLs and PBMCs were quantified using flow cytometry.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-seven subjects participated in this study. Subjects with moderate or severe steatosis had a higher percentage of intrahepatic CD3+/CD56+ NKT cells (38.6%) than did patients with mild steatosis (24.1%, P = 0.05) or those without steatosis (21.5%, P = 0.03). Patients with moderate to severe steatosis also had a higher percentage of NKT cells in the blood (12.3%) as compared to patients with mild steatosis (2.5% P = 0.02) and those without steatosis (5.1%, P = 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  NKT cells are significantly increased in the liver and blood of patients with moderate to severe steatosis and support the role of NKT cells in NAFLD.
authors.affiliation: New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Adler
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.forename: Kamalu
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Okebugwu
authors.forename: Herman
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yee
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fielding
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fielding
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Poles
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D015703:Antigens, CD / Q000276:immunology; D001706:Biopsy; D005234:Fatty Liver / Q000209:etiology / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000276:immunology; D015847:Interleukin-4 / Q000276:immunology; D008099:Liver / Q000166:cytology* / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D008875:Middle Aged; D055611:Natural Killer T-Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D065626:Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology / Q000601:surgery; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015703:Antigens, CD; D015847:Interleukin-4; D007371:Interferon-gamma