Objective:To explore the characteristics of T lymphocyte subsets and cytokines in hyperlipidemia-induced acute pancreatitis (HLAP) and its prognostic value.Methods:This study included 184 patients with acute pancreatitis (AP) admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University from January 2018 to May 2021. Based on disease etiology, there were 92 HLAP cases and 92 non-hyperlipidemia-induced AP (NHLAP) cases. Stratified by disease severity according to 2012 Atlanta classification criteria, the patients were divided into the severe subgroup (SAP) and non-severe subgroup (NSAP). Peripheral venous blood samples were taken from all patients on day 1, 3, and 5 after admission. T lymphocyte subsets were determined by flow cytometry, and cytokines were detected by flow fluorometry. The number of CD4 +% and CD8 +% and the expression of cytokines were compared by Student’s t test or Mann-Whitney U analysis. Logistic regression analyses were performed to identify risk factors for severe AP, and a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was constructed to predict severe AP. Statistical significance was taken as P<0.05. Results:Compared with the NHLAP group, patients in the HLAP group had lower CD4 +%, while higher levels of IL-2 on day 1 ( P<0.05), and had also lower CD4 +%, while higher levels of IL-4, IL-6, and IL-10 on day 3 ( P<0.05). Furthermore, IL-6 and IL-10 levels of the HLAP group were significantly increased compared to the NHLAP group on day 5 ( P<0.05). IL-10 levels in the SAP subgroup were significantly higher than those in the NSAP subgroup on day 1 ( P<0.05). Compared with the NSAP subgroup, the SAP subgroup had elevated levels of IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10 and IFN-γ on day 3 (all P<0.05), and had lower CD4 +%, while increased levels of IL-6 and IL-10 on day 5 (all P<0.05). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that IL-10 was an immune indicator of independent risk factor for severe AP in the HLAP group on day 1 ( OR=1.139, 95% CI: 1.038-1.251, P<0.05). Finally, ROC analysis showed that the area under the curve of IL-10 to assess HLAP with severe AP was 0.772, and the best cut-off value for predicting severe AP was 5.6 pg/mL, with a sensitivity of 83.3% and a specificity of 68.8%. Conclusions:Changes of CD4 +% and cytokines are different between the HLAP and NHLAP groups. IL-10 can be used as a predictor of early disease severity in patients with HLAP.

OBJECTIVETo explore the changes in HBsAg titer and HBV DNA load and their correlation in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and HBV-related liver cirrhosis (HBV-LC).

METHODSForty-six patients with mild to moderate CHB (CHB-LM), 24 patients with severe CHB (CHB-S), and 28 patients with HBV-LC at admission, and 51 patients with HBV-LC at 4.08 ± 3.06 months during antiviral treatment were tested for serum HBsAg titer and HBV DNA load using Abbott chemiluminescence and fluorescence quantitative PCR, respectively.

RESULTSThe serum HBsAg titer and HBV DNA load gradually decreased with increased disease severity (from CHB-LM, CHB-S to HBV-LC; χ(2)=12.537 and 8.381, respectively, P<0.05). HBsAg titer and HBV DNA load were significantly higher in CHB-LM and CHB-S groups than in HBV-LC group (P<0.05), but comparable between CHB-LM and CHB-S groups (Z=-0.649 and 0.032, respectively, P>0.05). Among HBeAg-positive patients, HBsAg titer and HBV DNA load tended to decrease with increased disease severity (from CHB-LM, CHB-S to HBV-LC; χ(2)=6.146, P=0.046 and χ(2)=1.017, P>0.05; respectively), and CHB-LM group had significantly higher HBsAg titer than HBV-LC group (Z=-2.247, P=0.025). Among the HBeAg-negative patients, serum HBsAg and HBV DNA load gradually declined with the disease severity (χ(2)=8.660 and 13.581, respectively, P<0.05), and were obviously higher in CHB-LM and CHB-S groups than in HBV-LC group (P<0.05). Positive correlations were found between serum HBsAg and HBV DNA levels in CHB-LM (r=0.389, P=0.009) and HBV-LC groups (r=0.431, P=0.022), but not in CHB-S group (r=0.348, P=0.104). After antiviral therapy, the serum HBsAg titer was slightly decreased (Z=-1.050, P=0.294) while HBV DNA load markedly reduced (Z=-5.415, P<0.001), showing no correlation between them (r=0.241, P=0.111) or between the measurements before and after treatment (r=0.257, P=0.085).

CONCLUSIONSerum HBsAg titer and HBV DNA load decreases progressively from CHB-LM to CHB-S and HBV-LC in both HBeAg- positive and -negative patients. The serum HBsAg titer is positively correlated with HBV DNA load, but their levels are not consistently parallel.

Antiviral Agents ; therapeutic use ; DNA, Viral ; blood ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ; blood ; Hepatitis B, Chronic ; blood ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis ; blood ; virology ; Viral Load