Immunological alterations in pregnant women with acute hepatitis E

Pal, Rekha ; Aggarwal, Rakesh ; Naik, Subhash R. ; Das, Vineeta ; Das, Siddharth ; Naik, Sita (2005) Immunological alterations in pregnant women with acute hepatitis E Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 20 (7). pp. 1094-1101. ISSN 0815-9319

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Official URL: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/1186570...

Related URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1440-1746.2005.03875.x

Abstract

Background: Infection with hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a major cause of acute viral hepatitis in several developing countries. Although usually self-limiting and benign, the disease is particularly severe among pregnant women, with mortality rates reaching 15-20%. Methods: Immune parameters among pregnant women with acute hepatitis E (P-HEV) were investigated and compared with those in non-pregnant patients with hepatitis E (N-HEV), and healthy pregnant (PC) and non-pregnant (NPC) women. Results: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from P-HEV patients had lower lymphocyte proliferation response to phytohemagglutinin (PHA) than those in the PC and NPC groups. A positive lymphocyte proliferation response to HEV antigen (HEVAg), a mixture of eight peptides derived from HEV proteins, was observed in 7/19 (37%) P-HEV patients, 3/9 (33%) N-HEV patients and only 2/21 (10%) PC and 2/14 (14%) NPC subjects; the stimulation indices in the P-HEV group were similar to the N-HEV group and higher than the PC group. Measurement of cytokine production by PBMC in response to PHA and HEVAg showed a reduction in production of T-helper 1 (Th1) cytokines and an increase in that of Th2 cytokines in the P-HEV group. Cytokine mRNA levels showed similar changes. Conclusion: These results show the existence of a Th2 bias in pregnant women with acute hepatitis E. The role of this Th2 bias in the greater severity of hepatitis E among pregnant women needs further investigation.

Item Type:Article
Source:Copyright of this article belongs to John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Keywords:Cytokines; IL-2; IL-4; IFN-γ; IL-10; Lymphoproliferative Responses; Th1; Th2
ID Code:4014
Deposited On:13 Oct 2010 07:00
Last Modified:30 Dec 2010 12:02

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