DISTINCT PATTERNS OF T-CELL RECEPTOR DISTRIBUTION OF PERIPHERAL-BLOODCD8(-B VIRUS() CELLS DURING DIFFERENT STAGES OF CHRONIC INFECTION WITH HEPATITIS)

We compared the V beta TCR repertoires of CD8(+) peripheral blood lymp hocytes between 21 patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and 9 healt hy individuals, using RT-PCR analysis. Several differences were seen b etween CHB patients and controls, including a marked increase in the e xpression of two to five vp families in the CHB patients. There was no evidence for a superantigen effect, although an increase in V beta 7 was seen in 64% of patients. A significant under-expression of V beta families were also detected, particularly in patients with active live r disease in which under-expression of V beta 14 and V beta 15 was ass ociated with acute exacerbations of liver disease. We also did a longi tudinal analysis of the TCR repertoire in two patients over a period o f 6 months, from the initiation of a disease flare to its resolution. One patient: continued to experience spontaneous flares following the completion of this study, while the other patient underwent spontaneou s remission with long-term (>12 months) loss of HBeAg following resolu tion of the flare. The TCR repertoires of both patients were altered d uring the flare, and there was a higher degree of TCR variability in t he patient who went into remission. (C) American Society for Histocomp atibility and Immunogenetics, 1998. Published by Elsevier Science Inc.