Abstract
BackgroundAntiviral therapy is recommended for patients with immune-active chronic hepatitis B (CHB) to decrease the risk of liver-related complications. However, the outcomes of the pegylated IFN-α (PEG-IFN-α) therapy vary among CHB patients. We aimed to identify factors that can influence the outcomes in CHB patients who received antiviral PEG-IFN-α monotherapy.MethodsThirty-two CHB patients who received PEG-IFN-α monotherapy were enrolled in this study. All of the patients underwent two liver biopsies at baseline and 6 months after the initiation of the therapy. CD8+ T cells, CD4+ T cells, CD68+ mononuclear cells, and PD-1 levels in the 64 liver biopsy specimens were examined via immunofluorescence.ResultsThe overall median frequency of CD8+ T cells in the liver tissues of 32 CHB patients significantly decreased at 6 months after the therapy initiation (p < 0.01). In the FIER (fibrosis and inflammation response with HBeAg seroconversion) group, CD8+PD-1+ T cells significantly decreased at 6 months (p < 0.05), while CD8+PD-1− T cells had no significant difference. On the contrary, in the FIENR (no fibrosis and inflammation response and HBeAg seroconversion) group, CD8+PD-1− T cells significantly decreased after 6 months of PEG-IFN-α treatment (p < 0.05), while CD8+PD-1+ T cells had no significant difference. In addition, the levels of CD68+ mononuclear cells in the FIER group showed an overall increasing trend after treatment (p < 0.05).ConclusionsThe changes in the levels of CD8+PD-1+ T cells and CD68+ mononuclear cells may be related to the response to PEG-IFN-α therapy.
Highlights
Antiviral therapy is recommended for patients with immune-active chronic hepatitis B (CHB) to decrease the risk of liver-related complications
The rates of patients with normal Alanine aminotransferase (ALT), normal Aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and HBV-DNA negative increased during the course of PEG-IFN-α therapy (Table 2)
In the IRFENR group (n = 8), only the CD8+PD-1+ T cells decreased significantly in the portal areas after 6 months of antiviral therapy, while there was no significant difference in the lobular areas and the total areas
Summary
Antiviral therapy is recommended for patients with immune-active chronic hepatitis B (CHB) to decrease the risk of liver-related complications. The outcomes of the pegylated IFN-α (PEG-IFN-α) therapy vary among CHB patients. We aimed to identify factors that can influence the outcomes in CHB patients who received antiviral PEG-IFN-α monotherapy. Chronic HBV infection-related diseases including liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) will kill about 786,000 people annually in the world [2]. To reduce such risk of death-causing complications, antiviral therapy is highly recommended for patients with immune-active chronic hepatitis B (CHB) [3, 4]. Its efficacy is limited in only onethird of treated patients [3, 6]
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