Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 9, 2026

Stem Cell-Derived Viral Ag-Specific T Lymphocytes Suppress HBV Replication in Mice
Published on: September 25, 2019
[CD4+ CD25+ regulatory T cells suppress CD4+ T cell responses in patients with persistent hepatitis C virus
Jiang-hua Yang1, Yong-xiang Zhang, Rong-bin Yu
1Department of Infectious Diseases, First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, China.
Objective:
To study the role of CD(4)(+) CD(25)(+) regulatory T cells (CD(4)(+) CD(25)(+) Treg cells) in CD(4)(+) T cell responses in patients with persistent infection of hepatitis C viruses.
Methods:
Flow cytometry was used to determine the number of CD(4)(+) CD(25)(+) Treg cells and intracellular cytokine production by CD(4)(+) CD(25)(+) Treg cells in patients with chronic HCV infection. To assess their regulatory properties CD(4)(+) CD(25)(+) Treg cells were co-cultured with CD(4)(+) CD(25)(-) T cells from patients or controls; the expressions of Foxp3 were measured by RT-PCR.
Results:
CD(4)(+) CD(25)(+) Treg cells comprised (13.5 +/- 1.8)% of peripheral CD(4)(+) T cells in the blood of persistent hepatitis C virus infected patients, which was significantly higher than that of healthy controls (5.3 +/- 0.8)% (P = 0.004). CD(4)(+) CD(25)(+) Treg cells highly expressed Foxp3 and mainly synthesized IL-10; CD(4)(+) CD(25)(+) Treg cells dramatically suppressed the proliferation of CD(4)(+) T cells and the production of IFN gamma; the suppressive activity of CD(4)(+) CD(25)(+) Treg cells in patients with persistent HCV-infection was higher than that in healthy controls (P = 0.034). These effects were dose-dependent but IL-10 and transforming growth factor beta independent.
Conclusion:
Patients with persistent hepatitis C virus infection show an increased number and suppressive activity of CD(4)(+) CD(25)(+) Treg cells, which could function in a highly regulatory capacity to suppress Th1 response.
More Related Videos
07:17Phenotypic and Functional Analysis of Activated Regulatory T Cells Isolated from Chronic Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis Virus-infected Mice
Published on: June 22, 2016
10:37Analysis of HBV-Specific CD4 T-cell Responses and Identification of HLA-DR-Restricted CD4 T-Cell Epitopes Based on a Peptide Matrix
Published on: October 20, 2021
Related Concept Videos
Hepatitis
T Cell Types and Functions
Th1 cells stimulate dendritic cells to express necessary co-stimulatory molecules on their surfaces for...
Cytotoxic T Cells-mediated Immune Response
Immunological surveillance is the ability of immune cells to monitor and eliminate infected cells with intracellular pathogens, neoplastically transformed cells, and cells with non-self antigens. Cytotoxic T cells and NK...
Immune Response Against Viral Pathogens
NK Cells
NK cells are a crucial part of our innate immune system, acting as the first line of defense against viral infections. These cells can recognize and kill infected cells without prior exposure to the virus, effectively slowing down the spread of infection. Additionally, NK cells produce proinflammatory...