Abstract
As the main effector cells of innate immunity, nature killer (NK) cells play important roles in preventing hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. This study aims to investigate the correlation between NK cells and different clinical stages of chronic HBV infection and interferon-α (IFN-α) therapy. Two hundred ninety-five patients diagnosed with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) infection and selected 50 healthy adults were enrolled in this study, the frequency of CD3−CD56+ cells in peripheral blood were measured and analyzed. The level of NK cells was decreased in hepatitis B-associated liver cirrhosis significantly and had no changes in CHB or hepatocellular carcinoma, while the frequency of NK cells gradually decreased from the baseline to week 24 and then increased since week 24–48 in CHB with IFN-α treatment. NK cells played an important role in the process of HBV progression and IFN-α therapy.
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