The Role of CD8+ T Cells-Producing Interleukin 17 in Pathogenesis of Chronic Hepatitis B

Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) remains a major global public health burden, with approximately 1.1 million deaths annually. The current classification of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection into four distinct phases is based exclusively on virological, biochemical, and histological parameters without taking into account immunological markers, even though the clinical course and outcome of the infection are mainly linked to the immune response. This study was designed to assess CD8+IFNγ+ (Tc1), CD8+IL17A+ (Tc17) and the expression of perforin and Granzyme B in peripheral blood CD8+ T cells to elucidate their functional implications at different phases of chronic hepatitis B infection. Whole blood from 20 chronic Hepatitis B patients and 20 healthy controls recruited respectively at the hepato-gastro-enterology department, CHU Campus and National Blood Transfusion Center (CNTS) of Lomé were stimulated using phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) and ionomycin. CD8+, CD8+IFNγ+, CD8+IL17A+, CD8+Perforin+ and CD8+GranzymeB+ T cells frequency were characterized by intracellular cytokine staining (ICS) combined with flow cytometry method. All patients were positive for anti-HBe and negative for HBeAg. Among them, 7 showed viral replication (active carrier) and 4 showed diseases. We observed that CHB patients displayed a decrease in circulating CD8+ T cells and an increase in CD8+IL17A+ T cells. This increase in CD8+IL17A+ T cells was associated with CHB. Our study revealed that CD8+ T cells profile was not impaired at different stages of CHB.