INTRAHEPATIC IMMUNE INFILTRATE IN CHRONIC HEPATITIS B AND CHRONIC HEPATITIS C: SIMILAR BUT NOT THE SAME

GIADANS, CECILIA GRACIELA; RÍOS D; AMEIGEIRAS B; HADDAD, LEILA; DE MATTEO E; VALVA P; MARIA VICTORIA PRECIADO

JOURNAL OF VIRAL HEPATITIS.

WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2022

1352-0504

In chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and C (CHC) infections the composition of the immune cell microenvironment at the site of infection is poorly understood. Thus, our aim was to characterize and compare liver infiltrates to identify shared and exclusive hepatic immune components. Methods: Immunohistochemistry was performed on 26 CHB and 42 CHC liver biopsies to determine Th (CD4+), Th1 (Tbet+), Th17 (IL-17A+), Treg (Foxp3+), and CTL (CD8+) cells frequency in portal/periportal (P/P) and intralobular areas and relate them to liver damage. Results: CHB and CHC cases shared a P/P CD4+ lymphocyte predominance and a lobular CD8+ lymphocyte majority. However, CHC exhibited a concomitant lobular T-bet+ cell dominance while in CHB FoxP3+ cells prevail. CHC disclosed higher frequencies of P/P FoxP3+, IL-17A+ and T-bet+ cells and intralobular CD4+, IL-17A+ and T-bet+ lymphocytes. HBeAg+ chronic hepatitis and CHC cell frequencies were similar except for lobular T-bet+ that remained higher among CHC cases. Comparison among cases with less severe liver disease revealed lower lymphocyte frequencies in CHB samples, while no differences were observed between patients with more severe stages. Interestingly, in CHB P/P CD4+ and lobular CD4+, CD8+ and IL-17A+ cells were associated to severe hepatitis. Conclusions: Even when all studied populations were identified in both infections preferential lymphocyte frequencies and prevalence at different areas along with their association with liver damage highlighted that CHB and CHC immune responses are not the same.