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Updated: Oct 9, 2025
Analysis 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
Effects of HBeAg Status on cellular immune function of patients with Hepatitis B virus/Treponema Pallidum Co-infectio
Wei Luo1, Hanxiao Xin2, Pengyun Zhao3
1Wei Luo, Blood Transfusion Department, Baoding First Central Hospital, Baoding, Hebei, 071000, China.
Objectives:
This study was aimed at exploring the effects of hepatitis B envelope antigen (HBeAg) status on the cellular immune function of patients with hepatitis B virus/treponema pallidum (HBV/TP) co-infection.
Methods:
The clinical data of 79 patients with HBV/TP co-infection admitted to our hospital from January 2019 to January 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. These patients were divided into two groups according to the different HBeAg statuses before the treatment: 41 HBeAg+ patients were included in the HBeAg+ group, while 38 HBeAg- patients were included in the HBeAg- group. The levels of HBV-DNA, T lymphocyte subsets represented by NK cells and cytokines associated with T cells in the peripheral blood (PB) of the patients were compared between both groups.
Results:
The HBV-DNA levels in the HBeAg+ group were significantly higher than those in the HBeAg- group (P < 0.05). The levels of CD3+, CD4+, CD4+/CD8+ and natural killer (NK) cells in the HBeAg+ group were higher than those in the HBeAg- group (P < 0.05), while the levels of CD8+ cells were lower than those in the HBeAg- group (P < 0.05). Moreover, the levels of interferon-γ (IFN-γ), tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α), interleukin-2 (IL-2), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-17 (IL-17), transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) in the HBeAg+ group were all significantly higher than those in the HBeAg- group (P < 0.05), but there was no significant difference in the levels of interleukin-4 (IL-4) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) between the HBeAg+ group and the HBeAg- group (P > 0.05).
Conclusion:
HBeAg+ can increase the HBV-DNA levels in the PB of patients with HBV/TP co-infection, in turn triggering the body to initiate cellular immunity, increasing the levels of T lymphocyte subsets, and promote the secretion of cytokines.
