Abstract: Objective · To investigate the correlation between proportion of natural killer (NK) cells and dendritic cells (DCs) and liver injury in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection.  Methods · Peripheral blood samples were collected from 65 patients with chronic HBV infection and 10 healthy volunteers (HCs group). Flow cytometry was used to detect the proportion of peripheral NK cells and DCs. The patient were divided into asymptomatic HBV carrier (AsCs) group, chronic hepatitis B in low or moderate grade (CHB-LM) group, and chronic severe hepatitis B (CSHB)group. The relationship of the proportion of NK cells, the proportion of DCs, and the ratio of NK/DC with the degree of  liver injury was analyzed.  Results · The proportion of peripheral NK cells was significantly lower in  CHB-LM group (9.29%±1.20%) and CSHB group (3.60%±0.79%) than that in HCs group (14.77%±2.90%) and AsCs group (14.05%±2.32%) (P=0.000). And the proportion of peripheral DCs was significantly higher in CHB-LM group (4.10%±1.18%) than that in HCs (1.67%±0.31%), AsCs (2.05%±0.46%) and CSHB groups (2.08%±0.41%) (P=0.000). The ratio of NK/DC was decreased in CSHB and CHB-LM groups compared to that in HCs and AsCs groups (P=0.000). The correlation analysis indicated the proportion of NK cells was negatively correlated with the levels of ALT, AST, TB and DB (r=-0.50, r=-0.49, r=-0.53, r=-0.51, P=0.000 for all) in patients with chronic HBV infection.  Conclusion · The proportion of peripheral NK cells and the ratio of NK/DC in patients with chronic hepatitis B were decreased. The decrease of the frequency of NK cells and the ratio of NK/DC were associated with liver injury in patients with chronic HBV infection.

Key words:  chronic hepatitis B virus infection, natural killer cell, dendritic cell, ratio of natural killer cells to dendritic cells, liver injury