title: Preserved Function of Circulating Invariant Natural Killer T Cells in Patients With Chronic Hepatitis B Virus Infection.
abstract: To date, the role of invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells in chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is not fully understood. In previous reports, iNKT cells were identified by indirect methods. However, discrepancies regarding the prevalence and function of iNKT cells during HBV infection were observed. In this study, we have devised a direct, highly specific CD1d tetramer-based methodology to test whether patients with HBV infection have associated iNKT-cell defects. In our study, a total of 93 chronic HBV-infected patients and 30 healthy individuals (as control) were enrolled. The prevalence of iNKT cells, their cytokine producing capacity, and in vitro expansion were determined by flow cytometric analysis with CD1d tetramer staining. Our observation demonstrated that there was no significant difference in circulating CD1d-tetramer positive iNKT cell numbers between HBV-infected patients and healthy controls. The capacity of iNKT cells to produce IFN-γ or IL-4 as well as their in vitro expansion was also comparable between these 2 groups. However, among chronic HBV-infected patients, a decrease in iNKT cell-number was observed in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and cirrhosis patients in comparison to that in immune tolerant (IT) patients. These results indicated that patients with chronic HBV infection may have normal prevalence and preserved function of circulating iNKT cells. And antiviral therapy with nucleot(s)ide analogue does not alter the frequency and function of circulating iNKT cells in chronic Hepatitis B patients.
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Infectious Diseases, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China (HZ, YZ, HL, YZ, YK, RM, FY, JZ); Department of Melanoma Medical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA (DZ); and Key laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology of the Ministries of Education and Health (MOH&MOE), Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, China (JZ).
authors.forename: Haoxiang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Yongmei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Hongyan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Yijun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Yaoyue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Richeng
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.forename: Feifei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Dapeng
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Jiming
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D055610:Antigens, CD1d / Q000378:metabolism; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016207:Cytokines / Q000096:biosynthesis; D005260:Female; D005355:Fibrosis / Q000473:pathology; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D019694:Hepatitis B, Chronic / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008875:Middle Aged; D055611:Natural Killer T-Cells / Q000473:pathology*; D012737:Sex Factors; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D055610:Antigens, CD1d; D000998:Antiviral Agents; D016207:Cytokines