CXCR3 expression on peripheral CD4+ T cells as a predictive marker of response to treatment in chronic hepatitis C

We monitored in fifty individuals with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) the expression of CCR5 and CXCR3, two chemokine receptors involved in the intra-hepatic recruitment of T cells, at the surface of circulating CD4+ T cells. The percentage of CD4+ T cells expressing CCR5 and/or CXCR3 was increased in patients. The increased percentage of CD4+ CXCR3+ T lymphocytes was linked to serum level of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and to fibrosis METAVIR score. CD4+ T cell surface CCR5 and CXCR3 densities increased after 6 months of treatment with pegylated interferon-alpha and ribavirin. The pre-therapeutic percentage of CD4+ CXCR3+ T cells was correlated with alanine aminotransferase serum level at 12 months, and viral load at 24 months after treatment initiation. Thus, in CHC we observed a high CXCR3 expression on peripheral blood CD4+ T cells which correlates with AST serum level and liver fibrosis, and is predictive of the response to treatment.