Expression of DR5 on peripheral blood mononuclear cells in chronic hepatitis B patients

Objective To understand the expression of DR5 on peripheral blood mononuclear cells(PBMC) among different groups of chronic hepatitis B(CHB) patients and its clinical significance. Methods A total of 90 CHB patients in Ningbo Medical Center Lihuili Eastern Hospital during December 2015 and December 2017 were selected, and were divided into mild(30 cases), moderate(32 cases) and severe(28 cases) CHB groups. Other 27 healthy individuals were enrolled as control group. Real-time PCR and Western blot were used to detect the expression of DR5 mRNA and DR5 protein in different CHB groups, respectively. Scheffe model was used to compare the differences among different groups. Results Real-time PCR results showed that the expressions of DR5 mRNA in mild, moderate and severe CHB groups, namely, 2-△△Ct values of 2.127, 2.111 and 4.695, were significantly higher than those in control group (F=1.085, 1.068 and 2.237, P<0.01 or 0.05) . The expression of DR5 mRNA in severe CHB group was significantly higher than that in mild or moderate group (F=1.025, 1.073, P<0.05) . Linear trend test showed F=235.083, P<0.01. The expressions of DR5 protein significantly increased in severe and moderate CHB group comparing with mild and control group (F=0.064, 0.502, 0.074, 0.519, P<0.01) . The expression of DR5 protein was also significantly higher in severe CHB group than that in moderate CHB group (F=0.448, P<0.01) . Linear trend test showed F=408.832, P<0.01. Conclusions The expression levels of DR5 mRNA and protein in PBMC are significantly high in CHB patients, and show an increasing trend with the aggravation of hepatitis. Key words: Hepatitis B, chronic; Real-time PCR; Western blot; Apoptosis; TRAIL receptor-2