Published online Mar 14, 2008. doi: 10.3748/wjg.14.1617
Revised: January 25, 2008
Published online: March 14, 2008
AIM: To investigate the in vitro effect of entecavir (ETV) on the function of dendritic cells (DCs) derived from chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients.
METHODS: Mononuclear cells were isolated from peripheral blood of patients with CHB. DCs were incubated with RPMI-1640 medium supplemented with fetal bovine serum, IL-4, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF). DCs were treated with or without ETV on the fourth day. Cell surface molecules, including CD1a, CD80, CD83 and HLA-DR, were assessed by flow cytometry. Concentrations of IL-6 and IL-12 in the supernatant were assayed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The ability of the generated DCs to stimulate lymphocyte proliferation was observed.
RESULTS: Compared with CHB control group, the expression levels of CD1a (29.07 ± 3.20 vs 26.85 ± 2.80), CD83 (25.66 ± 3.19 vs 23.21 ± 3.10), CD80 (28.00 ± 2.76 vs 25.75 ± 2.51) and HLA-DR (41.96 ± 3.81 vs 32.20 ± 3.04) in ETV-treated group were higher (P < 0.05). ETV-treated group secreted significantly more IL-12 (157.60 ± 26.85 pg/mL vs 132.60 ± 22.00 pg/mL (P < 0.05) and had a lower level of IL-6 in the culture supernatant (83.05 ± 13.88 pg/mL vs 93.60 ± 13.61 pg/mL, P < 0.05) than CHB control group. The ability of DCs to stimulate the proliferation of allogeneic lymphocytes was increased in ETV-treated group compared with CHB control group (1.53 ± 0.09 vs 1.42 ± 0.08, P < 0.05).
CONCLUSION: Entecavir can enhance the biological activity of DCs derived from CHB patients.