Title: Involvement of Fas receptors (CD95) and ligands (CD95L) in CD4+, CD8+ T-cell depletion and hepatic cytolysis in patients with Chronic Viral Hepatitis B

Biography:

Azebaze Aguéguia Franklin Stève is a research student, passionate about immunology, who is motivated by the understanding of the immunological mechanisms involved in pathologies, in order to improve the health status of the world population. After obtaining a Bachelor's degree in Biochemistry, and a Master's degree in Immunology, he continued his research at the Center for the Study and Control of Communicable Diseases (CSCCD) of the Faculty of Medicine and Biological Sciences (FMBS) of the University of Yaoundé, at the cameroon.

Abstract

Chronic Viral Hepatitis B (VHB) is characterized by a progressive destruction of hepatocytes and T-lymphocyte depletion. The mechanisms of the CD95-CD95L signaling pathway during chronic VHB and cirrhotic process remains unclear. Our objective was to evaluate the involvement of the CD95-CD95L receptor-ligands in T-lymphocyte depletion and hepatic cytolysis in patients with chronic VHB. A cross-sectional study was conducted from September to December 2018, at the Yaoundé General Hospital, Cameroon. Four milliliters of blood were collected and analyzed. The CD95, CD95L levels and CD4+, CD8+ T-cell counts were performed by ELISA and Flow cytometry, respectively. The data were analyzed using EpiInfo 7.0 and GraphPad PRISM 5.0, with the significant threshold set at p ≤ 0.05 and a 95% confidence interval. Of the 130 patients, 36 (27.7%) were cirrhotic, and 94 (72.3%) were non-cirrhotic. The plasma level of CD95 and CD95L were significaly elevated in cirrhotic patients, compared with non-cirrhotic patients (p < 0.001 and p = 0.001 respectively). CD4/CD8 ratios were lower in cirrhotic patients, compared with non-cirrhotic patients (p < 0.001). There were statistically significant correlations between CD95 and CD4+, between CD95 and CD8+, between CD95 and CD4/CD8 ratio, between CD95 and fibrosis scores and between CD95L and fibrosis score. CD95-CD95L could be involved in T-lymphocyte depletion and hepatic cytolysis during the pathogenesis of chronic VHB, and could be used as biomarkers for immunological and hepatic monitoring in patients with chronic VHB.