Analysis of CD4+CD25+CD127low Regulatory T Cells in Peripheral Blood of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients with HBV Infection

LIU Hui; LI Jianyu; WANG Fengmei; WANG Peng; LI Chenglong; LUO Ying; ZHU Zhengyan

doi:10.3969/j.issn.0253-9896.2014.06.005

Abstract：Objective To investigate the level of CD4+CD25+CD127low regulatory T cells (Tregs) in the peripheral blood of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients with HBV infection and to explore the relationship between these cells and HBV infection. Methods Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were isolated from 41 HCC patients infected with HBV, 34 HCC patients without HBV infection and 29 healthy persons. These mononuclear cells were labeled with the monoclonal anti-bodies of CD4, CD25 and CD127, and then Tregs level was determined by flow cytometry (FCM). Moreover, the load of HBV DNA in the blood serum of HCC patients with HBV infection was detected by fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reac-tion (FQ-PCR). Results The percentage of CD4+CD25+CD127low Tregs in CD4+T cells in the HCC patients with HBV infec-tion was higher than that in the HCC patients without HBV infection [(8.24±2.20)%vs (7.06±2.46)%, P<0.05] and that in the healthy persons [(8.24 ± 2.20)% vs (6.51 ± 1.99)%, P < 0.01]. Furthermore, the percentage of CD4+CD25+CD127low Tregs in CD4+T cells in the HCC patients without HBV infection was higher than that in the healthy persons [(7.06±2.46)%vs (6.51± 1.99)%, P<0.05]. In addition, the level of CD4+CD25+CD127low Tregs in the HCC patients with HBV infection was gradually increased following the increase of HBV DNA load and there was a positive correlation between the level of CD 4+CD25+CD127low Tregs and the load of HBV DNA (r=0.350,P < 0.05). Conclusion The level of CD4+CD25+CD127low Tregs in HCC patients is increased remarkably and associated with the number of HBV DNA copy, which may be an important mecha-nism of immunologic escape of virus in HCC.