Annals of Laboratory Medicine

Korean Society for Laboratory Medicine (대한진단검사의학회)
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CD69 Expression is Negatively Associated With T-Cell Immunity and Predicts Antiviral Therapy Response in Chronic Hepatitis B

  • Yurong Gu (Department of Infectious Diseases, the Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University) ;
  • Yanhua Bi (Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Liver Disease Research, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University) ;
  • Zexuan Huang (Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Liver Disease Research, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University) ;
  • Chunhong Liao (Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Liver Disease Research, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University) ;
  • Xiaoyan Li (Department of Infectious Diseases, the Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University) ;
  • Hao Hu (Department of Infectious Diseases, the Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University) ;
  • Huaping Xie (Department of Infectious Diseases, the Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University) ;
  • Yuehua Huang (Department of Infectious Diseases, the Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University)
  • Received : 2024.04.06
  • Accepted : 2024.10.23
  • Published : 2025.03.01
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Abstract

Background: The function of CD69 expressed on T cells in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) remains unclear. We aimed to elucidate the roles of CD69 on T cells in the disease process and in antiviral therapy for CHB. Methods: We enrolled 335 treatment-naive patients with CHB and 93 patients with CHB on antiviral therapy. CD69, antiviral cytokine production by T cells, T-helper (Th) cells, and inhibitory molecules of T cells were measured using flow cytometry, and clinical-virological characteristics were examined dynamically during antiviral therapy. Results: CD69 expression on CD3+, CD4+, and CD8+ T cells was the lowest in the immune-active phase and was negatively correlated with liver transaminase activity, fibrosis features, inflammatory cytokine production by T cells, and Th-cell frequencies but positively with inhibitory molecules on T cells. CD69 expression on CD3+, CD4+, and CD8+ T cells decreased after 48 weeks of antiviral therapy, and patients with hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) seroconversion in week 48 showed lower CD69 expression on T cells at baseline and week 48. The area under the ROC curve of CD69 expression on T cells at baseline for predicting HBeAg seroconversion in week 48 was 0.870, the sensitivity was 0.909, and the specificity was 0.714 (P =0.002). Conclusions: CD69 negatively regulates T-cell immunity during CHB, and its expression decreases with antiviral therapy. CD69 expression predicts HBeAg seroconversion in week 48. CD69 may play an important negative role in regulating T cells and affect the efficacy of antiviral therapy.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This study was supported by the Research and Development Planned Project in Key Areas of Guangdong Province (grant No. 2019B110233002), the Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (No. 2020A1515010052), the Guangzhou Science and Technology Project (grant No. 202002030431), and the Joint Key Projects of City and Hospital of Guangzhou Science and Technology (grant No. 202201020422).

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