Mucosal-associated invariant T cells in hepatitis B virus-related liver failure

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Liver failure has high mortality and poor prognosis, and establishing new reliable markers for predicting its prognosis is necessary. Mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells are a novel population of innate-like lymphocytes involved in inflammatory liver disease, and their potential role in liver failure remains unclear. AIM: To investigate alteration of circulating MAIT cells and assess its prognostic value in patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related liver failure. METHODS: We recruited 55 patients with HBV-related liver failure, 48 patients with chronic hepatitis B and 40 healthy controls (HCs) from Nantong Third People's Hospital Affiliated to Nantong University. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were isolated, and the percentage and number of circulating MAIT cells were detected by flow cytometry. Plasma levels of interleukin (IL)-7, IL-12p70, IL-18 and interferon-α were measured by Luminex assay. RESULTS: 0.0001) were dramatically increased in HBV-related liver failure patients compared with HCs. CONCLUSION: Circulating MAIT cells may play an important role in the process of HBV-related liver failure and can be an important prognostic marker.