[Impact of pegylated interferon alpha and ribavirin therapy of chronic hepatitis C on peripheral blood and intrahepatic lymphocytes].

Unlabelled: The role of cellular immune response in pathogenesis of liver cell injury and course of chronic hepatitis C have been previously confirmed. The aim of this study was to determine the modification of T-lymphocyte subsets during pegylated interferon alpha (PegIFN) and ribavirin treatment and its correlation with response to the treatment.

Material And Methods: The assessment of subsets of intrahepatic lymphocytes and peripheral blood lymphocytes was done in 62 patients with chronic hepatitis C using flow cytometry and immunohistochemical method.

Results: Significant increase in peripheral blood CD4+ cells, was observed in week 12 of treatment in patients with both complete and partial response to therapy. There were no significant modifications in nonspecific CD8+ subsets, but after 12 week of treatment in patients with response to therapy, decrease or lack of HCV-specific CD8+ cells were observed. The assessment of subsets of intrahepatic lymphocytes revealed a significantly higher percentage of CD8+ cells in pretreatment liver biopsies from patients with sustained viral response.

Conclusions: The results confirmed the impact of interferon alpha and ribavirin treatment on cellular response. Some immunological host factors should be considered in the early prognosis of successful treatment.