Limited T cell receptor Vbeta-chain repertoire of liver-infiltrating T cells in autoimmune hepatitis
Abstract
To characterize the cellular immune reactions in autoimmune hepatitis, the T cell receptor repertoire of liver-infiltrating and circulating T cells was studied. Nucleic acids of liver-tissue and peripheral blood-derived T cells from 12 patients with untreated autoimmune hepatitis, four patients with chronic hepatitis C and three patients with toxic liver injury were extracted and analysed using a semiquantitative RT-PCR with a panel of T cell receptor Vbeta family specific primers. After agarose gel electrophoresis, the distribution of T cell receptor (TCR) Vbeta molecules was assessed by densitometry. Furthermore, results were compared to the TCR Vbeta distribution of 10 healthy blood donors. Four of 12 patients with untreated autoimmune hepatitis but no patients with chronic hepatitis C and toxic liver injury showed a significant overexpression of TCR Vbeta3 (17.8% +/- 2.6% vs. 9.3% +/- 4.6%; p = 0.01) and three an overexpression of Vbeta13.1 (14.6% +/- 2.3% vs. 6.6% +/- 3.5%; p = 0.02) molecules compared to the TCR Vbeta-distribution in healthy blood donors. In addition, Vbeta3+ T cells were found enriched in the liver tissue compared to autologous peripheral blood in three autoimmune hepatitis patients (15.3% +/- 7.0% vs. 5...Continue Reading
References
LKM-1 autoantibodies recognize a short linear sequence in P450IID6, a cytochrome P-450 monooxygenase
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Autoimmune Hepatitis
Autoimmune hepatitis formerly called lupoid hepatitis, is a chronic, autoimmune disease of the liver that occurs when the body's immune system attacks liver cells causing the liver to be inflamed. Discover the latest research on autoimmune hepatitis here.