•  
  •  
 

Article Type

Original Study

Abstract

Objective: Our objective was to evaluate the relationship between the expression of PD-1 as an inhibitory novel marker on CD8+ T cells and hepatitis C virus (HCV) viral replication and disease progression in chronic HCV-infected Egyptian patients. Background: Tight correlation between host circulating CD8+ T-cell-mediated immune response and control of viral replication is a classic characteristic of long-term HCV infection. Patients and methods: This study included 28 chronic hepatitis C patients without cirrhosis (17 male and 11 female), 25 chronic hepatitis C patients with cirrhosis (14 male and 11 female), and 15 healthy controls (10 male and five female). Laboratory investigations such as complete blood picture, liver function tests, evaluation of hepatitis viral markers (HBsAg and anti-HCV Ab), and HCV RNA PCR were performed on all participants. The level of PD-1 on CD8+ T cells was assessed using flow cytometry. Results: The data revealed a higher percentage of PD-1 on CD8+ T cells in HCV-infected patients compared with healthy controls. Our results also indicated a significant correlation between PD-1/CD8 level and HCV viral load in the studied groups. Conclusion: Our results suggested that PD-1 level on peripheral CD8+ was highly correlated with HCV viral load in chronic HCV-infected patients, which made PD-1 a novel indicator to evaluate the impairment and dysfunction of host CD8+ T-cell immunity as well as HCV viral persistence.

Download

Share

COinS