Study of peripheral NK cells in chronic hepatitis B

Objective To detect the expression level of peripheral NK cells in chronic hepatitis B.Methods peripheral blood were obtained from 33 chronic hepatitis B and 35 healthy controls.Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were collected.TRAIL expression by NK cells was examined by flow cytometry.Results NK cells in chronic hepatitis B was significantly increased compared with healthy control,but,CD56brightNK cells was significantly increased,CD56dimNK cells was significantly decreased.Especially,TRAIL expression was significantly increased(P0.05).Conclusion TRAIL up-regulation on NK cells maybe associated with liver injury on choronic hepatitis B.