title: Imbalance between CD56+bright and CD56+dim natural killer cell subsets in the liver of patients with recurrent hepatitis C after liver transplantation.
abstract: Progressive liver fibrosis remains a major problem for patients with recurrent chronic hepatitis C(CHC) after liver transplantation (LT). However, the involvement of natural killer (NK) and natural killer T (NKT) cells, which predominate in the liver, in recurrent CHC after LT remains unclear.In the present study, we investigated the status of NK and NKT cells in the liver and peripheral blood obtained from 10 patients with recurrent CHC after LT (LT-C), 15 patients with CHC, and 7 normal donors for living donor LT. CD56+ NK cells were separated into two subsets: CD56+bright subset, which is identified as major NK cytokine producer, and CD56+dim subset, which has greater spontaneous cytotoxicity. We found a significant decrease in the CD56+bright subset in the liver of patients with LT-C compared to patients with CHC (P<0.01) and normal donors (P=0.03). The expression of inhibitory NK cell receptor NKG2A was significantly increased on intrahepatic CD56+bright subset in LT-C patients, and activated CD69+CD56+dim NK cell subset was significantly increased in the liver of LT-C patients. Our results suggest that a significant imbalance between CD56+bright and CD56+dim NK cell subsets in the liver may contribute to the progression of recurrent CHC after LT.
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, 1-757 Asahimachidori, Chuo-ku, Niigata 951-8510, Japan.
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yamagiwa
authors.forename: Yoshinobu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: Takafumi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ichida
authors.forename: Toru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Setsu
authors.forename: Kentaro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tominaga
authors.forename: Hiroteru
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kamimura
authors.forename: Atsunori
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tsuchiya
authors.forename: Masaaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takamura
authors.forename: Yasunobu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Matsuda
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Aoyagi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D019002:CD56 Antigen / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D016130:Immunophenotyping; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D008099:Liver / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*; D016031:Liver Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000276:immunology; D018655:Lymphocyte Count; D016131:Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012008:Recurrence; D014019:Tissue Donors; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D019002:CD56 Antigen