Abstract:

Objective  To investigate the change of Vα24 NKT cells number in peripheral blood and its correlation with the degree of hepatic fibrosis in patients with advanced schistosomiasis.  Methods  Thirty-two advanced schistosomiasis patients and 23 healthy persons were included in the study. The percentage of peripheral blood Vα24 NKT cells was determined by flow cytometry. The relevant indicators of liver function were detected by enzyme cycling method. Type-B ultrasound was used to examine the degree of hepatic fibrosis.  Results  Flow cytometry showed that the percentage of Vα24 NKT cells in advanced schistosomiasis patients［（0.23±0.09）%］ was significantly lower than that of healthy persons ［（1.44±0.62）%］（P<0.01）. Liver function test showed that the alanine aminotransferase（ALT） ［（44.78±33.42） U/L］， γ-glutamyl transpeptidase（γ-GT） ［（68.75±57.95） U/L］ and total bilirubin （Tbil）［（20.16±11.20） μmol/L］ in the patients were significantly higher than those of healthy persons［（18.77±14.19） U/L， （20.20±13.82） U/L， and （11.65±5.09） μmol/L］， respectively （P<0.01， P<0.01， P<0.05）. The percentage of Vα24 NKT cells was positively correlated with γ-GT （r=0.365， P<0.05）， but not significantly correlated with ALT， aspartate transaminase， direct bilirubin， alkaline phosphatase， albumin， albumin-globulin ratio （P＞0.05）. The percentage of Vα24 NKT cells in patients with gradesⅠ（5 cases）， Ⅱ（11 cases）， and Ⅲ（16 cases） fibrosis was （0.37±0.02）%， （0.28±0.04）%， （0.15±0.03）%， respectively （P<0.01）. The percentage of Vα24 NKT cells showed a significant negative correlation with the degree of liver fibrosis（r=-0.91， P<0.01）.  Conclusion  The percentage of Vα24 NKT cells in peripheral blood decreases with the aggravation of hepatic fibrosis in patients with advanced schistosomiasis.

Key words: Natural killer T cell, Advanced schistosomiasis, Flow cytometry, Hepatic fibrosis