Th1/Th2 Cells and Associated Cytokines in Acute Hepatitis E and Related Acute Liver Failure

• Published in: Journal of Immunology Research Vol. 2020; no. 2020; pp. 1 - 8
• Main Authors: Jiang, Bin, Yu, Jiong, Cao, Hongcui, Li, Lanjuan, Yang, Jinfeng, Shang, Anquan, Wei, Daqiao, Lv, Feifei, Huang, Fen, Lu, Xuan, Guo, Yurong, Wu, Jian, Pan, Qiaoling
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cairo, Egypt Hindawi Publishing Corporation 2020; Hindawi; John Wiley & Sons, Inc; Hindawi Limited
• Subjects: Antibodies; Antibody Specificity - immunology; Biomarkers; CD3 antigen; CD4 antigen; Cell-mediated immunity; Cytokines; Cytokines - metabolism; Disease Susceptibility; Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid; Female; Flow cytometry; Health aspects; Helper cells; Hepatitis; Hepatitis Antibodies - immunology; Hepatitis E; Hepatitis E - complications; Hepatitis E - immunology; Hepatitis E - metabolism; Hepatitis E - virology; Hepatitis E virus - immunology; HIV; Hospitals; Human immunodeficiency virus; Humans; Immunoglobulin G; Immunoglobulin M; Immunology; Infection; Infections; Interleukin 10; Interleukin 4; Liver; Liver failure; Liver Failure, Acute - diagnosis; Liver Failure, Acute - etiology; Lymphocytes; Lymphocytes T; Male; Medical records; Polymerase chain reaction; Ribonucleic acid; RNA; RNA, Viral; Severity of Illness Index; Th1 Cells - immunology; Th1 Cells - metabolism; Th1 Cells - pathology; Th2 Cells - immunology; Th2 Cells - metabolism; Th2 Cells - pathology; Viral infections; Viral Load; Womens health; γ-Interferon; China; United States > US
• DOI: 10.1155/2020/6027361
• ISSN: 2314-8861

Background and Aims. The involvement of cellular immunity in the development of hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection is rare. We aimed to study the roles of viral load and Th cell responses in acute hepatitis E (AHE) and HEV-related acute liver failure (HEV-ALF). Methods. We evaluated viral load and Th1/Th2 cytokine levels in 34 patients with HEV infection, including 17 each with AHE or HEV-ALF. Seventeen healthy controls (HCs) were also included who were negative for anti-HEV IgM and IgG. Results. There was no significant difference in viral load and HEV RNA in the AHE and HEV-ALF groups (both P>0.05). The Th lymphocyte levels (CD3+, CD4+) in the AHE and HEV-ALF groups were significantly higher than those in the HC group (both P<0.05), but there was no significant difference between the AHE and HEV-ALF groups (P>0.05). Both IFN-γ and IL-10 showed gradual upward trend from the HC group to the AHE (both P<0.01), but IFN-γ showed a sharp downward trend from the AHE group to the HEV-ALF group (P<0.01) and IL-4 showed gradual upward trend from the AHE group to the HEV-ALF group (P<0.01).There was no significant difference in Th1 and Th2 cytokines between the HEV RNA(+) group and HEV RNA(-) group (all P>0.05). Th2 bias was observed from the AHE (ratio=58.65) to HEV-ALF (ratio=1.20) groups. The level of IFN-γ was associated with the outcome of HEV-ALF patients. Conclusions. HEV viral load was not associated with aggravation of AHE, and the HEV-ALF patients showed significant Th2 bias, which may be involved in the aggravation of AHE.