Open Access

Predictive value of plasmacytoid dendritic cells and Toll‑like receptor‑9 regarding the treatment efficacy of interferon‑α in HBeAg‑positive chronic hepatitis B patients

  • Authors:
    • Yue Chen
    • Jia‑En Yang
    • Jing‑Mo Tang
    • Qian‑Guo Mao
    • Qi‑Zhong Zheng
    • Ying Zheng
  • View Affiliations

  • Published online on: November 1, 2019     https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2019.8161
  • Pages: 4541-4546
  • Copyright: © Chen et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection represents a public health threat and a challenge for the medical community. Untimely treatment may lead to liver cirrhosis and even liver cancer. At present, the major treatment for hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)‑positive chronic hepatitis B patients includes administration of interferon‑α (IFN‑α), which has anti‑viral and immunomodulatory effects. Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) and Toll‑like receptor-9 (TLR‑9) have important roles in anti‑viral therapy. However, their predictive value regarding the efficacy of IFN‑α treatment of HBeAg‑positive chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients has remained elusive. A total of 178 patients with CHB and HBeAg‑positive status, who had not received any previous anti‑HBV treatment, were enrolled in the present study. All patients were treated with IFN‑α. HBV DNA load, hepatitis B surface antigen and serum alanine aminotransferase were measured prior to and following 48 weeks of treatment. According to HBV levels, the patients were divided into a response group and non‑responders group. To determine the amount of pDCs, blood dendritic cell antigen 2 (BDCA‑2)‑ and immunoglobulin‑like transcript 7 (ILT7)‑expressing cells in liver biopsies were detected using immunohistochemistry. TLR‑9 expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells was determined by reverse transcription‑quantitative PCR. There was no significant difference in the proportion of pDCs (BDCA‑2; ILT7) and TLR‑9 mRNA expression between the response group and the non‑responders group prior to IFN‑α treatment. After IFN‑α treatment, BDCA‑2, ILT7 and TLR‑9 mRNA expression was obviously increased in the response group compared with that in the non‑responders group (P<0.05). Increased expression of BDCA‑2, ILT7 and TLR‑9 mRNA was negatively correlated with HBV DNA (P<0.05). Increased levels of pDCs and TLR‑9 were negatively correlated with HBV DNA, and were thus capable of predicting the IFN‑α treatment response in patients with CHB and HBeAg‑positive status.
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December-2019
Volume 18 Issue 6

Print ISSN: 1792-0981
Online ISSN:1792-1015

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Spandidos Publications style
Chen Y, Yang JE, Tang JM, Mao QG, Zheng QZ and Zheng Y: Predictive value of plasmacytoid dendritic cells and Toll‑like receptor‑9 regarding the treatment efficacy of interferon‑α in HBeAg‑positive chronic hepatitis B patients. Exp Ther Med 18: 4541-4546, 2019.
APA
Chen, Y., Yang, J., Tang, J., Mao, Q., Zheng, Q., & Zheng, Y. (2019). Predictive value of plasmacytoid dendritic cells and Toll‑like receptor‑9 regarding the treatment efficacy of interferon‑α in HBeAg‑positive chronic hepatitis B patients. Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine, 18, 4541-4546. https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2019.8161
MLA
Chen, Y., Yang, J., Tang, J., Mao, Q., Zheng, Q., Zheng, Y."Predictive value of plasmacytoid dendritic cells and Toll‑like receptor‑9 regarding the treatment efficacy of interferon‑α in HBeAg‑positive chronic hepatitis B patients". Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine 18.6 (2019): 4541-4546.
Chicago
Chen, Y., Yang, J., Tang, J., Mao, Q., Zheng, Q., Zheng, Y."Predictive value of plasmacytoid dendritic cells and Toll‑like receptor‑9 regarding the treatment efficacy of interferon‑α in HBeAg‑positive chronic hepatitis B patients". Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine 18, no. 6 (2019): 4541-4546. https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2019.8161