[Effects of direct antiviral agent on the frequency of peripheral blood mononuclear cells and their activating factors sCD14s and CD163 in patients with chronic hepatitis C].

Objective: To explore the effects of direct antiviral agent (DAAs) on the frequency of peripheral blood mononuclear cells and their activating factors sCD14s and CD163 in patients with chronic hepatitis C. Methods: Data of 15 treatment-naive chronic hepatitis C patients and 10 healthy controls were collected. Patients with chronic hepatitis C were treated with DAAs for 12 weeks. Blood samples were collected at 0, 4 and 12 weeks respectively, and blood samples of healthy controls were used as controls. Flow cytometry was used to detect the frequency of classical CD14(++)CD16(-) mononuclear cells and pro-inflammatory CD14(+)CD16(+) mononuclear cells in peripheral blood. Serum sCD14s and sCD163 were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The comparison between the two groups was performed by t-test. The comparison between multiple groups was performed by analysis of variance, and further pairwise comparison was performed by LSD-t test. Results: Prior DAAs treatment, peripheral blood CD14(+)CD16(+) mononuclear cell frequency (18.49% ± 1.54% vs. 10.65% ± 0.83%), serum sCD14s [(64 407.38 ± 5778.49) pg/ml vs. (28 370.76 ± 2 357.68 ) pg/ml] and sCD163 [(22 853.80 ± 4 137.61) pg/ml vs. (2 934.41 ± 223.31) pg/ml] were all higher than healthy controls (P < 0.05), while the frequency of CD14(++)CD16(-) mononuclear cells in peripheral blood was lower than healthy controls (59.14%±0.54% vs. 72.75%±1.31%, P < 0.01). During DAAs treatment, CD14(+)CD16(+) mononuclear cells frequency, serum sCD14 and sCD163 were all decreased significantly. After 12 weeks of treatment, CD14(+)CD16(+) mononuclear cells had decreased to nearly normal level (12.42% ± 1.60% vs. 10.65% ± 0.83%, P > 0.05), and serum sCD14 and scd163 were still higher than those of healthy controls [sCD14: (44 390.06 ± 3 330.17) pg / ml vs. (28 370.76 ± 2 357.68) pg/ml, Scd163: (11 494.79 ± 1 836.97) pg / ml vs. (2 934.41 ± 223.31) pg / ml, P < 0.01], while the frequency of CD14(++)CD16(-)mononuclear cells had gradually increased during the course of treatment and neared healthy control level after 12 weeks of treatment. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups (71.54) % ± 2.99% vs. 72.75% ± 1.31%, P > 0.05). Conclusion: DAAs therapy can reduce the activation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells in patients with chronic hepatitis C.