OBJECTIVETo study the relationship between the expression of peripheral blood HLA-DR, CD4CD25 regulatory T cells, IL-17 and IL-27 with liver damage in children with human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection.

METHODSTwenty-one HCMV children with liver damage and twenty-one HCMV children without liver damage were enrolled in this study. The expression of peripheral blood HLA-DR and CD4CD25 regulatory T cells was detected by flow cytometry. Plasma levels of IL-17 and IL-27 were measured using ELISA.

RESULTSThe plasma levels of IL-17 and IL-27 in children with liver damage were significantly higher than in those without liver damage, while the expression of peripheral blood CD4CD25 regulatory T cells was lower than in those without liver damage (P<0.05). Plasma IL-17 and IL-27 levels were negatively correlated with the expression of peripheral blood CD4CD25 regulatory T cells (P<0.01).

CONCLUSIONSImmune imbalance mediated by CD4CD25 regulatory T cells and over-expression of IL-17 and IL-27 may be involved in the pathogenesis of liver damage in children with HCMV infection.

CD4 Antigens ; immunology ; Cytomegalovirus ; physiology ; Cytomegalovirus Infections ; blood ; complications ; genetics ; Female ; Flow Cytometry ; HLA-DR Antigens ; genetics ; immunology ; Humans ; Infant ; Interleukin-17 ; blood ; genetics ; Interleukin-2 Receptor alpha Subunit ; immunology ; Interleukins ; blood ; genetics ; Liver ; injuries ; metabolism ; Liver Diseases ; blood ; etiology ; immunology ; Male ; T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory ; immunology

OBJECTIVETo determine the changes in levels of D-dimer, prothrombin time (PT), fibrinogen (Fib), CD4 and CD8 in relation to hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS) by using a rat model system and to assess the association with pathologic changes in lung.

METHODSForty male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into equal groups for modeling of cirrhosis and HPS. The two groups were assessed by blood gas analysis, standard biochemical tests to measure D-dimer, PT, Fib, CD4 and CD8, and pathological examination of lung tissues.

RESULTSThe HPS rats showed significantly lower PaO2 than the cirrhosis rats (58.20+/-3.19 mmHg vs. 85.00+/-2.53 mmHg, P = 0.000). The HPS rats showed significantly higher levels of D-dimer, Fib and CD8 than the cirrhosis rats (0.39+/-0.09 mg/ml vs. 0.25+/-0.05 mg/ml, P = 0.000; 1.77+/-0.10 g/L vs. and 1.49+/-0.09 g/L, P = 0.010; 32.32+/-4.45/mm3 vs. 20.13+/-6.09/mm3, P = 0.014). The HPS rats showed significantly lower levels of PT, CD4 and CD4/CD8 than the cirrhosis rats (14.86+/-1.04 s vs. 16.23+/-0.75 s, P = 0.036; 20.45+/-3.86/mm3 vs. 26.75+/-5.32/mm3, P = 0.000; 0.64+/-0.09 vs. 1.32+/-0.13, P = 0.000). The lung tissues of the HPS rats showed microthrombosis in pulmonary vessels, which were not observed in lung tissues of the cirrhosis rats.

CONCLUSIONHPS-related differential levels of D-dimer, PT, Fib, CD4, CD8 and CD4/CD8 may represent a biomarker profile suggestive of incidence of thromboembolism in lung.

Animals ; CD4 Antigens ; metabolism ; CD4-CD8 Ratio ; CD8 Antigens ; metabolism ; Disease Models, Animal ; Fibrin Fibrinogen Degradation Products ; metabolism ; Fibrinogen ; metabolism ; Hepatopulmonary Syndrome ; blood ; Liver Cirrhosis ; blood ; Lung ; pathology ; Male ; Prothrombin Time ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

OBJECTIVEAutoimmunity participates in chronic heart failure (CCI), it is CD4+ T lymphocytes that mainly induces myocardial infiltration and the progression of the disease. The purpose of this research is to assess changes of CD4+, CD8+ T lymphocyte subset, and phenotype of primary T cell (CD4+ CD45RA+) and memory T cells (CD4+ CD45RO+) in peripheral blood in aged male patients with CCI. And to investigate the immunomodulatory effects on subsets of CD4+, CD8+ and phenotype of CD4+ CD45RA+ and CD4+ CD45RO+ and the possible therapeutic mechanism.

METHODSThe participant were 155 aged men among whom 94 cases were diagnosed as CCI and heart function of the rest 41 cases were normal. All patients underwent echocardiography examination and were collected peripheral blood before and after treatment. Serum N terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels were detected by heterogeneous immunoassay. Serum C reactive protein (CRP) were measured by immunoturbidimetry assay. T lymphocytes in peripheral blood were separated and determined distribution of CD4+, CD8+, CD4+ CD45RA+, CD4+ CD45RO+ using flow cytometry. Participants were divided into 3 groups: the CCI intervention group, who received regular therapy and thymopentin (20 mg intramuscular injection, once every other day for 3 month; n = 60) , the CCI control group, who received regular therapy (n = 54) and 41 healthy individual older than 57 years of age, who served as normal controls.

RESULTSCompared with the control group, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and CD4+ CD45RO+ levels decreased, left ventricular end diastolic diameter (LVEDD), NT-proBNP, CRP, CD4+, CD4+ CD45RA+, CD4+/CD8+, CD4+ CD45RA+/CD4+ CD45RO+ levels were obviously higher in CCI group. Distribution of CD8+ was not significantly changed. The level of NT-proBNP, CRP, CD4+/CD8+, CD4+ CD45RA+/CD4+ CD45 RO+ was negatively correlated with LVEF. LVEF could be much improved via decreasing distribution of CD4+/CD8+, CD4+ CD45RA+/CD4+ CD45RO in CCI intervention group than in CCI control group.

CONCLUSIONThe changes of CD4+/CD8+ and CD4+ CD45RA+/CD4+ CD45RO+ suggest that CD4+ T lymphocyte subset and its phenotype play an important role in the process of CCI. The regulation of CD4+ T lymphocyte and its phenotype may be one of the strategy in the treatment of CCI.

Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; CD4-CD8 Ratio ; CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes ; CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes ; Heart Failure ; blood ; immunology ; Humans ; Immunomodulation ; Leukocyte Common Antigens ; immunology ; Male ; Phenotype ; T-Lymphocyte Subsets ; immunology

BACKGROUNDHost immune responses against hepatitis B virus (HBV) induced by antiviral therapy play a crucial role in viral clearance. To further investigate the immune mechanisms underlying the differences between respondents and non-respondents, we analyzed myeloid dendritic cells (mDCs), plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs), FoxP3(+) regulatory T cells (FoxP3(+) Treg) and programmed death 1 (PD-1) expression in CD4(+)/CD8(+) T cells in chronic hepatitis B patients undergoing pegylated interferon (PegIFN)α-2b treatment.

METHODSPatients received PegIFNα-2b for 24 or 48 weeks, with follow-up at 24 weeks. The frequencies of mDCs, pDCs, FoxP3(+) Treg, and PD-1 expression by CD4(+)/CD8(+) T cells were evaluated by flow cytometry at baseline, weeks 4 and 12, end of treatment, and follow-up (12/24 weeks).

RESULTSIn HBeAg seroconverters (respondents), the mDC relative frequency decreased at week 4 and then rebounded at week 12. The pDC relative frequency decreased consistently. In non-HBeAg seroconverters (non-respondents), both mDC and pDC frequencies decreased slightly. The FoxP3(+) Treg relative frequency decreased during treatment and remained low during follow-up in respondents, while in non-respondents it decreased slightly during therapy but rebounded after discontinuation. In patients with HBeAg < 17.55 PEI-U/ml at week 12 and < 8.52 PEI-U/ml at week 24, the FoxP3(+) Treg frequency decreased during treatment and at follow-up. In respondents, CD4(+)PD-1 and CD8(+)PD-1 levels decreased at week 4 and remained low at week 12. In non-respondents, PD-1 expression decreased at week 4 but rebounded at week 12.

CONCLUSIONSThe results indicate that the dynamic changes in DCs, FoxP3(+) Treg frequency, and PD-1 expression by CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells exhibit different trends in HBeAg and non-HBeAg seroconversion patients. During PegIFNα-2b treatment of chronic hepatitis B patients, these changes may be of predictive value for HBeAg seroconversion. HBsAg and HBeAg levels are related to FoxP3(+) Treg frequency.

Adult ; Antiviral Agents ; therapeutic use ; CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes ; immunology ; CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes ; immunology ; DNA, Viral ; blood ; Female ; Forkhead Transcription Factors ; analysis ; Hepatitis B ; drug therapy ; immunology ; Hepatitis B e Antigens ; blood ; Humans ; Interferon-alpha ; therapeutic use ; Male ; Polyethylene Glycols ; therapeutic use ; Programmed Cell Death 1 Receptor ; analysis ; Recombinant Proteins ; therapeutic use ; T-Lymphocytes ; immunology ; T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory ; immunology

OBJECTIVETo observe the effection of immune reconstitution efficiency and the immune function on Immune 2 with HAART to HIV/AIDS patients which poor immune reconstitution after HAART.

METHODTwo hundred and sixty four patients failure to immune reconstitution after HAART were randomly divided into treatment group (131 cases) and control group (133 cases), respectively, using Immune 2 plus HAART and placebo combined with HAART for 6 months. the CD4, CD8, CD45RA, CD45RO, CD4CD28, CD8CD28, CD8CD38, HLA-DR and CD4CD25 were observed in order to evaluate the immune reconstitution efficiency.

RESULTAfter the intervention for 6 months, the effective rate of treatment group (34.48%) was significantly superior to the control group (21.37%) (P = 0.0217). Treated group could significantly increased the CD4, CD45RA, CD45RO cell counts compared with control group (P < 0.05); CD8, CD3, CD4CD28 absolute count comparison between the two groups had no significant difference; CD8CD28 relative counting the treatment group group significantly increased (P < 0.05) compared to the control; CD4CD28, CD8CD38, CD8DR, CD4CD25 relative counting groups showed no significant difference.

CONCLUSIONImmune 2 can effectively improve the immune reconstitution efficiency, CD4 counts, CD45RA counts and CD45RO counts of patients after HAART, therefore promoting immune reconstitution.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome ; blood ; drug therapy ; immunology ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active ; CD4 Lymphocyte Count ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Humans ; Leukocyte Common Antigens ; blood ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

BACKGROUNDPolyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acids may beneficially influence healing processes and patient outcomes. The aim of this research was to study the clinical efficacy of fish oil enriched total parenteral nutrition in elderly patients after colorectal cancer surgery.

METHODSFifty-seven elderly patients with colorectal cancer were enrolled in this prospective, randomized, double-blind, controlled clinical trial. All patients received isocaloric and isonitrogenous total parenteral nutrition by continuous infusion (20 - 24 hours per day) for seven days after surgery. The control group (n = 28) received 1.2 g/kg soybean oil per day, whereas the treatment group (n = 29) received 0.2 g/kg fish oil and 1.0 g/kg soybean oil per day. Blood samples were taken pre-operatively, and at days one and eight after the operation. The plasma levels of CD4, CD8, CD4/CD8, interleukin 6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) were measured. Clinical outcomes were then analysed.

RESULTSPatient characteristics were comparable between the two groups. At day eight post-surgery, IL-6, TNF-α and CD8 titres were lower in the treatment group when compared to the control group; these results reached statistical significance. In the treatment group, there were fewer infectious complications and incidences of systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), and shorter lengths of hospital stay were observed. The total cost of medical care was comparable for the two groups. No serious adverse events occurred in either group.

CONCLUSIONSFish oil 0.2 g/kg per day administrated to elderly patients after colorectal surgery was safe and may shorten the length of hospital stay and improve clinical outcomes.

Aged ; CD4 Antigens ; blood ; CD4-CD8 Ratio ; CD8 Antigens ; blood ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; blood ; surgery ; Colorectal Surgery ; Female ; Fish Oils ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Interleukin-6 ; blood ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Parenteral Nutrition, Total ; methods ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; blood

OBJECTIVETo explore the changes of Treg-Th17 balance influenced by corticosterone, major effect hormone of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis under running stress.

METHODSA total of 25 corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) wildtype (CRH+/+) and knockout (CRH-/-) mice were adopt and divided into 4 groups as follows: CRH+/+ ctrl, CRH+/+ stress, CRH-/- ctrl and CRH-/- stress. All mice in stress groups were under 2 h running. After 1 h, blood plasma in all groups was collected and the expression of corticosterone and IL-17A was detected by ELISA. Meanwhile, unicell suspensions of peripheral lymph node and spleen in each group were prepared too and stained by PE-CD4 and FITC-CD25, then the changes of Treg (CD4+CD25+) in different groups were checked by flow cytometry; all data were statistically analyzed by the software of WinMDI 2.9, SPSS 11.5, Origin 7.5 and Matlab 2-D and 3-D plot function.

RESULTSThe levels of corticosterone were significantly higher in stress groups than that in corresponding control groups (P less than 0.05), especially in CRH+/+ stress group (P less than 0.01). However, the changes of Tregs were not obvious between stress groups and control groups with respective genotypes (P less than 0.05). Compared with that in CRH+/+ control group, the ratio of Treg and the expression of IL-17A in CRH-/- stress group were significantly higher than those in control group (P less than 0.05). Combined with the expression levels of corticosterone, Treg and Th17, our study suggests that endogenous glucocorticoid with basal level may cause the changes in Treg-Th17 balance. Moreover, as the corticosterone level increases, the expression of Treg and Th17 appears to manifest antagonistic fluctuant status with a rising tendency in general.

CONCLUSIONEndogenous glucocorticoid under early stage of stress may increase the function of T lymphocyte immunity to some extent.

Animals ; CD4 Antigens ; metabolism ; Corticosterone ; blood ; Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone ; metabolism ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Flow Cytometry ; Interleukin-17 ; metabolism ; Interleukin-2 Receptor alpha Subunit ; metabolism ; Lymph Nodes ; cytology ; Mice ; Mice, Knockout ; Pituitary-Adrenal System ; metabolism ; Running ; physiology ; Spleen ; cytology ; Stress, Physiological ; Th17 Cells ; metabolism

BACKGROUNDHepatic alveolar echinococcosis (AE) is a parasitic disease in humans and caused by the Echinococcus multilocularis (Em). Orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) may be the only effective treatment for end-stage hepatic AE. However, in some AE patients, extrahepatic Em can not be completely eliminated after OLT. We aimed to study whether the immunological changes caused by Em evasion may influence the rejective response.

METHODSRat modles of AE were established by injecting the Em suspension into abdomen of Brown Norway (BN) rats. Three months later, in the experimental group, the liver was transplanted from Lewis (LEW) rats to Em-infected BN rats. In the control group, transplantation was from LEW rats to healthy BN rats. Liver tissue and peripheral blood (PB) samples were collected on days 1, 3, 5, and 7 after OLT. Liver tissue was analyzed after hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining; numbers of CD4, CD8, and CD28 on peripheral blood cells were detected by flow cytometry; and expression of the chemokine fractalkine (Fkn) was detected by reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR). Interleukin-10 (IL-10) was measured in the serum by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In every group, eight BN rats were retained for observing survival time.

RESULTSThe survival times of recipients in the experimental group were prolonged compared with those in the control group. The rejective response occurred later and was milder in the experimental group. percentage of CD4, CD8, CD28 T-cells and Fkn mRNA expression were lower in the experimental group. While the serum IL-10 levels were higher in the experimental group than those in the control group.

CONCLUSIONSAcute rejective response after OLT was attenuated in the rats with Em infection, and the recipients` survival time was prolonged. Em may play a role in this process by elevating IL-10 secretion, decreasing the effector T cells, inhibiting the expression of Fkn, which lead to reduce the inflammatory cells infiltration into the liver.

Animals ; CD28 Antigens ; metabolism ; CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes ; metabolism ; CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes ; metabolism ; Echinococcosis, Hepatic ; mortality ; surgery ; therapy ; Echinococcus multilocularis ; pathogenicity ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Flow Cytometry ; Graft Rejection ; immunology ; Interleukin-10 ; blood ; Liver Transplantation ; adverse effects ; Rats ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction

The critical time of avian leukosis virus subgroup J (ALV-J)-mediated immunosuppression was determined by body weight, relative immune organ weight, histopathology, and presence of group specific antigen and antibodies in specific pathogen-free (SPF) chickens. CD4+ and CD8+ cell activity in the spleen, total and differential leukocyte counts in blood, and viral RNA levels in spleen were measured. Significant growth suppression was observed in the two ALV-J-infected groups. A strong immune response by infected groups was present in spleen at 2-weeks-of-age, but after 4-weeks-of-age, the response decreased quickly. The thymus and bursa showed persistent immunosuppression until 4-weeks-of-age. Proliferation of fibroblasts and dendritic cells were observed in immune organs at 4- and 5-weeks-of-age. However, the granulocyte cell number was markedly lower in the infected groups than in the control group. In group 1 (day 1 infection) CD4+ cells increased during the second week but significantly decreased during the fourth week, while group 2 (day 7 infection) showed the opposite effect. Viral RNA increased significantly by the fourth week. These data identify 3~4 weeks post-infection as the key time at which the ALV-J virus exerts its immunosuppressive effects on the host.
Animals ; Antibodies, Viral/blood ; Antigens, CD4/blood ; Antigens, CD8/blood ; Avian Leukosis/*immunology/transmission/virology ; Avian leukosis virus/classification/*immunology ; Body Weight ; *Chickens ; China ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay/veterinary ; Immune Tolerance ; Leukocyte Count/veterinary ; Poultry Diseases/*immunology/transmission/virology ; RNA, Viral/genetics ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction/veterinary ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction/veterinary ; Specific Pathogen-Free Organisms ; Spleen/immunology

OBJECTIVEConflicting data have been generated from previous studies to determine which kind of relationship exists between HIV-1 specific CD8 Tcell responses and HIV-1 viral load or CD4 count over the course of infection. In this study, 153 HIV-1 infected LTNPs were enrolled to investigate the role of HIV-1 specific CD8 T-cell responses in chronic HIV-1 infection among HIV-1 infected former blood donors.

METHODSThe patients were stratified into three groups according to CD4 count: CD4≥500 cells/μL; 350 cells/μL≤CD4<500 cells/μL; CD4<350 cells/μL. PBMCs were isolated from the patients' anticoagulated blood samples. IL-2 and IFN-γ secretions of CD 8 T cells against 17 HIV-1 consensus B full peptide pools were analyzed by using ICS assay.

RESULTSAn overall inverse correlation were observed between CD4 count and plasma viral load. Although no significant difference was observed during the comparisons of frequency/breadth of HIV-1 specific CD8 T cell responses, CD4 count stratification analysis showed that different correlation pattern existed in three strata: as for patients whose CD4 counts were less than 350 cells/μL, no significant correlations were identified between frequency/breadth of HIV-1 specific CD8 T cell responses and CD4 count/viral load; as for patients whose CD4 counts ranged from 350 cells/μL to 500 cells/μL, significant correlation was only observed between the response breadth of IL-2+IFN-γ+ CD8 T cells and CD4 count; however, as for patients whose CD4 counts were more than 500 cells/μL, direct correlations were identified between IL-2+IFN-γ+/IL-2+/IFN-γ+ CD8 T cells and viral load or CD4 count.

CONCLUSIONSUniversal consistent inverse correlation was only indentified between CD4 count and viral load. The relationship between HIV-1 specific CD8 T cell responses and CD4 count/viral load varied in different CD4 strata, which showed that better preserved CD4 T cells were correlated with better CD8 T cell functions.

Adult ; Antigens, Viral ; immunology ; Blood Donors ; CD4 Lymphocyte Count ; CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes ; cytology ; CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes ; cytology ; immunology ; China ; epidemiology ; Chronic Disease ; Cohort Studies ; Disease Progression ; Female ; Flow Cytometry ; HIV Infections ; blood ; epidemiology ; immunology ; virology ; HIV-1 ; genetics ; immunology ; Humans ; Interferon-gamma ; immunology ; Interleukin-2 ; immunology ; Lymphocyte Activation ; immunology ; Male ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Viral Load ; Viremia