Objective To study the correlation between the percentage of intrahepatic regulatory T cell (Treg) and liver inflammatory activity in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients.Methods Twenty-six cases of CHB patients admitted to First Department of Internal Medicine,Nagasaki University School of Medicine,Sakamoto,Nagasaki,Japan were enrolled and performed liver biopsy in this study.CD3+cell and Foxp3+ cell in liver were detected by immunohistochemistry.the percentage of Foxp3+/CD3+cell was determined.Clinical data including alanine aminotransferase (ALT).aspartate aminotransferase(AST), hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA level and the inflammatory activity of histological activity index score (HAD of liver pathology using Knodell evaluating system were collected.The data was analyzed by SPSS 13.0 software.Results Foxp3+Tregs in serial sections of CHB accumulated mainly in the portal area.There Was a significance correlation between the percentage of Foxp3+/CD3+ cell and liver parenchyma inflammation (P=0.007 6).Moreover,Foxp3+Treg in CHB patients with high serum ALT or AsT level presented in a higher frequency than in patients with low AIT or AST level.The difference between these tWO groups was statistically significant (rALT=O.438,PALT=0.025; fAST=O.436,Past=O.026).There Was a tendency between the percentage of Foxp3+/CD3+ cell in liver and HBV DNA level.however the correlation was not statistically significant.Conclusion It is suggested that CD4+ CD25+ Foxp3+Treg may play a major role in the pathogenesis of liver injury in the CHB patients.

Endemic areas of human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) have been reported in Japan as well as tropical Africa, Central and South America and Melanesia. The existence of two subgroups, i.e., the transcontinental and Japanese subgroups, was reported in Japan. In the present study, we provide data on the ratio of the two subgroups in each endemic area and infection foci and examine the distribution of HTLV-1 in Japan and neighboring areas. A 657 bp fragment of env region of HTLV-1 proviral genome was successfully amplified for 183 HTLV-1 positive DNA samples. The subgroup determination was done by RFLP reactions using endonucleases HpaI and HinfI. The northern part of mainland Kyushu, represented by Hirado and Kumamoto, was monopolized by the Japanese subgroup, while the transcontinental subgroup ranged from 20 to 35% in the Pacific coast areas of Shikoku (Kochi), the Ryukyu Archipelago (Kakeroma and Okinawa) and Taiwan. An interesting finding in the present study is the presence of the transcontinental subgroup in Kochi, suggesting the endemicity of the transcontinental subgroup along the Kuroshio Current.

We conducted phylogenetic analyses and an estimation of coalescence times for East Asian strains of HTLV-1. Phylogenetic analyses showed that the following three lineages exist in Japan: “JPN”, primarily comprising Japanese isolates; “EAS”, comprising Japanese and two Chinese isolates, of which one originated from Chengdu and the other from Fujian; and “GLB1”, comprising isolates from various locations worldwide, including a few Japanese isolates. It was estimated that the JPN and EAS lineages originated as independent lineages approximately 3,900 and 6,000 years ago, respectively. Based on archaeological findings, the “Out of Sunda” hypothesis was recently proposed to clarify the source of the Jomon (early neolithic) cultures of Japan. According to this hypothesis, it is suggested that the arrival of neolithic people in Japan began approximately 10,000 years ago, with a second wave of immigrants arriving between 6,000 and 4,000 years ago, peaking at around 4,000 years ago. Estimated coalescence times of the EAS and JPN lineages place the origins of these lineages within this 6,000–4,000 year period, suggesting that HTLV-1 was introduced to Japan by neolithic immigrants, not Paleo-Mongoloids. Moreover, our data suggest that the other minor lineage, GLB1, may have been introduced to Japan by Africans accompanying European traders several centuries ago, during or after “The Age of Discovery.” Thus, the results of this study greatly increase our understanding of the origins and current distribution of HTLV-1 lineages in Japan and provide further insights into the ethno-epidemiology of HTLV-1.