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Updated: Jul 6, 2026

Induction of Drug-Induced, Autoimmune Hepatitis in BALB/c Mice for the Study of Its Pathogenic Mechanisms
Published on: May 29, 2020
[CD4+CD25+high regulatory T cells in patients with autoimmune hepatitis]
Ming Li1, Hong-xiang Zhuge, Chuan-wu Zhu
1Department of Pathogenic Biology, Suzhou University, Suzhou 215007, China.
Objective:
To investigate the role of CD4+CD25+high regulatory T cells in the pathogenesis of autoimmune hepatitis.
Methods:
CD4+CD25+ high regulatory T cells and CD4+ T cells were measured by using flow cytometry in 16 patients with autoimmune hepatitis, 22 patients with chronic hepatitis B and 20 healthy blood donors. Foxp3 protein was detected by immunohistochemical assay in liver tissues from the patients with autoimmune hepatitis or chronic hepatitis B.
Results:
The percentage of CD4+CD25+high/CD4+ in patients with autoimmune hepatitis was significantly lower than that in healthy controls and patients with chronic hepatitis B. Meanwhile, the percentage of CD4+CD25+high/CD4+ highly increased in patients with chronic hepatitis B, compared with healthy controls; Foxp3 positive cells were mostly located in the hepatic lobular perisinusoidal spaces and the portal tract, and there was a significant difference in the quantity of Foxp3 positive cells between patients with autoimmune hepatitis and chronic hepatitis B.
Conclusion:
Patients with autoimmune hepatitis harbor a decreased percentage of CD4+CD25+ high regulatory T cells, which may be associated with development of autoimmunity.
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