Hepatitis C Virus Affects Tuberculosis-Specific T Cells in HIV-Negative Patients

Abstract

The occurrence of tuberculosis (TB) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections in the same patient presents a unique clinical challenge. The impact of HCV infection on the immune response to TB remains poorly investigated in TB+/HCV+ patients. This study was conducted to evaluate the impact of HCV on the T-cell-mediated immune response to TB in coinfected patients. Sixty-four patients with active TB infections were screened for coinfection with HCV. The expression of immune activation markers IFN-γ, CD38, and HLA-DR on TB-specific CD4+ T cells was evaluated by flow cytometry in TB-monoinfected patients, TB/HCV-coinfected patients, and healthy controls. IL-2, IL-4, IFN-γ, TNF-α, and IL-10 levels were measured using ELISA. The end-of-treatment response to anti-TB therapy was recorded for both patient groups. Significantly lower levels of CD4+IFN-γ+CD38+ and CD4+IFN-γ+HLA-DR+ T cells were detected in TB/HCV-coinfected patients compared to TB monoinfected patients and controls. TB+/HCV+-coinfected patients showed higher serum levels of IL-10. The baseline frequencies of TB-specific activated T-cell subsets did not predict the response to antituberculous therapy in TB+/HCV+ patients. We concluded that different subsets of TB-specific CD4+ T cells in TB/HCV-infected individuals are partially impaired in early-stage HCV infection. This was combined with increased serum IL-10 level. Such immune modulations may represent a powerful risk factor for disease progression in patients with HCV/TB coinfection.

Clinical Outcomes and Prevalence of Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) Among Non-A-C Hepatitis Patients in Egypt

“…Viral hepatitis infections, including HEV, are endemic in many developing countries. [29][30][31] HEV infection was reported as highly endemic in rural Egyptian communities. 22 Stoszek et al conducted a prospective cohort study on the villagers in two Egyptian rural communities, 919 villagers were initially anti-HEV IgG negative, after about 10 months 3.7% of the villagers showed reactivity to anti-HEV IgG giving an estimated anti-HEV incidence of 41.6/1000 person-years.…”

Regulatory B Cells and Their Cytokine Profile in HCV-Related Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Association with Regulatory T Cells and Disease Progression

“…Egypt is known to have a high prevalence of HCV infection, and hence the post-hepatitis HCC occurrence is highly expected [ 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 ]. This may need intense research, especially in the area of HCC oncogenesis, by exploring the immune-pathogenesis and potential triggers [ 9 , 32 , 33 , 34 ].…”

Altered Regulatory B Cell Subsets in Children with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

“…B cells and T cells play important roles in the pathogenesis of many infections and autoimmune diseases [17]. In the present study, we employed a flow cytometry approach to characterize different IL10-producing Breg subsets in the peripheral blood of T1D children and healthy individuals to assess whether these cell subsets are implicated in the regulation of this immune-mediated disease.…”