Overexpression of Fc receptor-like 1 associated with B-cell activation during hepatitis B virus infection.
The role of B cells in the pathogenesis of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection has not been explored in depth. In the present study, the activation status of B cells from peripheral blood of healthy controls (N = 20) and patients with acute hepatitis B (AHB, N = 15) or chronic hepatitis B (CHB, N = 30) was evaluated by measuring the expression levels of B-cell activation markers CD69 and CD86, using quantitative real-time PCR and flow cytometry. Moreover, the potential mechanism underlying B-cell activation during HBV infection was further investigated by analyzing the expression profile of FCRL1, an intrinsic activation molecule of B cells. An elevation in the levels of B-cell activation markers including CD69 and CD86 was observed in the AHB patients (44.31 ± 9.27, 27.64 ± 9.26%) compared to CHB patients (30.35 ± 11.27, 18.41 ± 6.56%, P < 0.05), which was still higher than healthy controls (12.23 ± 7.84, 8.22 ± 3.43%, P < 0.05). Furthermore, the expression of FCRL1 was found to be similar to B-cell activation markers, which was highest in AHB patients (70.15 ± 17.11%), lowest in healthy donors (36.32 ± 9.98%, P < 0.05) and half-way between these levels in patients with CHB (55.17 ± 12.03%, P < 0.05). The results were positively associated with aberrant B-cell activation. These data suggest that B cells can play a role in HBV infection, and therefore more effort should be devoted to exploring their functions.
Key Laboratory of Nuclear Medicine, Ministry of Health, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular Nuclear Medicine, Jiangsu Institute of Nuclear Medicine, Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, China.
Ke
K
Wang
Hao
H
Pei
Biao
B
Huang
Run-Lin
RL
Yang
Hang-Yuan
HY
Wu
Xue
X
Zhu
Lan
L
Zhu
D000328:Adult; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017423:Sequence Analysis, RNA
C551993:FCRL1 protein, human; D008565:Membrane Proteins