Dynamic changes of circulating T FH cells during antiviral therapy in chronic hepatitis B patients

AIM:To investigate the circulating follicular helper T cells (T FH) and the expression of intracellular interleukin-21 (IL-21) before and after antiviral therapy in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients. METHODS:The CHB patients with antiviral therapy (14 cases of telbivudine therapy and 21 cases of interferon therapy) were selected in the study. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were isolated by density gradient centrifugation. The level of CD4+CXCR5+ T FH cells and the expression of intracellular IL-21 were detected by flow cytometry. RESULTS:Intracellular IL-21 was produced mainly by T FH cells in peripheral blood T lymphocytes. The level of T FH cells had no statistically significant difference between the 2 different antiviral therapies in 24 weeks (P>0.05). The level of T FH cells and intracellular IL-21 in the patients with virological response (VR) was higher than those in the patients without virological response (NVR) before treatment. The levels of T FH cells was increased in NVR group during therapy. CONCLUSION:Antiviral therapy may contribute to elevate the level of circulating T FH cells in NVR patients. The high levels of circulating T FH cells and intracellular IL-21 before treatment can predict early virological response in CHB patients.