Overexpression of Fc receptor-like 1 associated with B-cell activation during hepatitis B virus infection.

Abstract

The role of B cells in the pathogenesis of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection has not been explored in depth. In the present study, the activation status of B cells from peripheral blood of healthy controls (N = 20) and patients with acute hepatitis B (AHB, N = 15) or chronic hepatitis B (CHB, N = 30) was evaluated by measuring the expression levels of B-cell activation markers CD69 and CD86, using quantitative real-time PCR and flow cytometry. Moreover, the potential mechanism underlying B-cell activation during HBV infection was further investigated by analyzing the expression profile of FCRL1, an intrinsic activation molecule of B cells. An elevation in the levels of B-cell activation markers including CD69 and CD86 was observed in the AHB patients (44.31 ± 9.27, 27.64 ± 9.26%) compared to CHB patients (30.35 ± 11.27, 18.41 ± 6.56%, P < 0.05), which was still higher than healthy controls (12.23 ± 7.84, 8.22 ± 3.43%, P < 0.05). Furthermore, the expression of FCRL1 was found to be similar to B-cell activation markers, which was highest in AHB patients (70.15 ± 17.11%), lowest in healthy donors (36.32 ± 9.98%, P < 0.05) and half-way between these levels in patients with CHB (55.17 ± 12.03%, P < 0.05). The results were positively associated with aberrant B-cell activation. These data suggest that B cells can play a role in HBV infection, and therefore more effort should be devoted to exploring their functions.

• Authors: Ke Wang, Hao Pei, Biao Huang, Run-Lin Yang, Hang-Yuan Wu, Xue Zhu, Lan Zhu
• Journal: Brazilian journal of medical and biological research = Revista brasileira de pesquisas medicas e biologicas (Braz J Med Biol Res) Vol. 45 Issue 12 Pg. 1112-8 (Dec 2012) ISSN: 1414-431X [Electronic] Brazil
• PMID: 22892829 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• FCRL1 protein, human
• Membrane Proteins

Topics

• Adult
• B-Lymphocytes (immunology, metabolism)
• Case-Control Studies
• Disease Progression
• Female
• Flow Cytometry
• Gene Expression Profiling
• Hepatitis B (genetics, immunology, metabolism)
• Humans
• Lymphocyte Activation (genetics, immunology)
• Male
• Membrane Proteins (genetics, immunology, metabolism)
• Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
• Sequence Analysis, RNA