Assessment of intrahepatic regulatory T cells in children with autoimmune hepatitis
Journal Title: Annals of Hepatology - Year 2016, Vol 15, Issue 5
Abstract
Background. T-cell populations regulate the balance of immune responses. The CD (Cluster of differentiation) 4+CD25+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) are crucial for maintaining negative control of various immune responses. There are different T-cell subpopulations with regulatory functions, as natural killer T cells, CD8+ and CD28. The forkhead box P3 (FOXP3) regulates Treg development and is required for its suppressive function. Aim. To evaluate the hepatic expression of the intrahepatic Tregs, Ig (immunoglobulin) G and IgM plasma cells in autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) and other chronic liver diseases (CLDs). Material and methods. This study included 100 pediatric patients; 50 AIH and 50 CLDs other than AIH. All patients were subjected to routine investigations of CLDs plus immune-staining of liver tissue for FOXp3, IgG and IgM plasma cells, CD4 and CD8 T-cells. Results. The FOXP3+ T cells in patients with AIH (6.3 ± 5) were significantly higher than that in the non-AIH (2.1 ± 2.6). FOXP3+ T cells were abundant in liver tissue with marked inflammatory cellular infiltrate. CD4+ and CD8+ infiltrating the liver tissue and IgG positive cells were significantly higher in AIH group, while the expression of IgM positive cells showed no significant difference. The IgG/IgM was significantly higher in the AIH treatment responders (3 ± 3) than non-responders (1.6 ± 0.5), while there was no significant difference regarding the intrahepatic expression of FOXP3+, CD4+, CD8+ cells, T-cells, IgG and IgM plasma cells. Conclusion. Intrahepatic Tregs were increased in number in patients with AIH in the initial presentation, and their presence is associated with increased activity and inflammation in liver biopsy.
Authors and Affiliations
Behairy Behairy , Hanaa El-Araby, Hasan Abd El kader, Nermin Ehsan, Menan Salem, Haidy Zakaria, Mohammed Khedr
Cavoportal hemitransposition for the simultaneous thrombosis of the caval and portal systems - A review of the literature
Portal venous thrombosis was originally considered to be a contraindication for liver transplantation. Currently, several methods exist to re-establish blood flow to the hepatic portal system. Cavoportal hemitranspositio...
NISCH syndrome with hypothyroxinemia
Neonatal Ichthyosis Sclerosing Cholangitis (NISCH) syndrome is a rare autosomal recessive condition characterized by ichthyosis, sclerosing cholangitis and alopecia. Only 5 patients have been described till now. We repor...
Association of baseline CD4+ cell count and HIV-RNA on sustained virologic response to interferon-ribavirin in HIV/HCV coinfected patients
Background and rationale for the study. We assessed the association of CD4+ T-cell counts and HIV-RNA on sustained viral response (SVR) after therapy with pegylated interferon and ribavirin (PR) in HIV/HCV coinfected pat...
Clinical characteristics of liver failure from a systemic cause: A report from an advanced critical care center
Background/Purpose. In Japan, acute liver failure (ALF) has generally been described using the diagnostic term, “fulminant hepatitis”, because of the fact that most cases of ALF has been thought to occur in association...
Diagnostic accuracy of magnetic resonance elastography in liver transplant recipients: A pooled analysis
Background and aims. We conducted an individual participant data (IPD) pooled analysis on the diagnostic accuracy of magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) to detect fibrosis stage in liver transplant recipients. Materia...