REGULATORY T CELL (CD4) EXPRESSION IN CORRELATION WITH VIRAL LOAD IN HEPATITIS B VIRUS INFECTION

Abstract

Aim: The aim of the present study was to find out the correlation between regulatory T cell (CD4) expression and viral load in Hepatitis B infection. Methods: The Hospital-based, observational study was conducted in the Department of Medicine, Assam Medical College for the period of one year (July 2018 to June 2019). The study was conducted on 63 patients fulfilling the inclusion criteria attending the outpatient Department or admitted in the Department of Medicine, Assam Medical College, and Hospital during the study period.
Results: In the present study, the maximum cases were in the age group between 30-39 years. Among the study population, 69.84% patient were male and 30.16% were female. The incidence of Hepatitis B infection was more common (80.95%) in married than the unmarried (19.05%). In the majority (90.48%) of patients, the onset of symptoms was insidious. A total of 34.95% of patients were incidentally detected with Hepatitis B infection. Out of 63 cases, 5 cases were acute hepatitis B (AHB) and the remaining 58 cases were in chronic hepatitis B (CHB). Among the chronic stage, 14 cases were HBeAg positive and 44 cases were HBeAg negative. Overall, a
positive correlation was found between Hepatitis B DNA load and Regulatory T cell (Tregs) expression.
Conclusion: Regulatory T cells (Tregs) have attracted a great deal of attention over the past few years as a consequence of their ability to suppress CD4 and CD8 effector T-cell responses. The immune regulation of Tregs is complicated, and the mechanisms of suppression of antiviral immune responses are not yet very clear. It has been suggested that Tregs may have evolved to prevent immunopathological damage but also contribute to viral persistence. Our findings demonstrated that there is a positive correlation between Tregs (CD4+CD25+FXP3+) and Hepatitis B DNA load. This result indicates that modulation of CD4+ CD25+ Tregs might be
one potential therapeutic strategy for the treatment of Chronic Hepatitis B infection.