Xueping Yu, Feifei Yang, Zhongliang Shen, Yao Zhang, Jian Sun, Chao Qiu, Yijuan Zheng, Weidong Zhao, Songhua Yuan, Dawu Zeng, Shenyan Zhang, Jianfei Long, Mengqi Zhu, Xueyun Zhang, Jingwen Wu, Zhenxuan Ma, Haoxiang Zhu, Milong Su, Jianqing Xu, Bin Li, Richeng Mao, Zhijun Su, Jiming Zhang
B- and T-lymphocyte attenuator (BTLA) levels are increased in patients with hepatitis B virus-related acute-on-chronic liver failure (HBV-ACLF). This condition is characterized by susceptibility to infection and T-cell immune exhaustion. However, whether BTLA can induce T-cell immune exhaustion and increase the risk of infection remains unclear. Here, we report that BTLA levels are significantly increased in the circulating and intrahepatic CD4+ T cells from patients with HBV-ACLF, and are positively correlated with disease severity, prognosis, and infection complications...
February 28, 2024: Nature Communications