[Preliminary observation of CXCR3 expression on peripheral blood lymphocytes from patients with chronic hepatitis B infection].

AIM: To explore the role of chemokine receptor CXCR3 in pathogenesis of chronic hepatitis B. METHODS: The expression of CXCR3 on peripheral blood lymphocytes from chronic hepatitis B patients with various degrees of inflammation was detected, and the distributions of CXCR3 on CD4(+) and CD8(+) T lymphocytes were also evaluated by FACS. RESULTS: As compared with healthy control, the percentages of CXCR3(+) lymphocytes, monocytes and CD8(+) T cells were increased significantly in chronic hepatitis B patients. CONCLUSION: Above data suggest that chemokine receptor CXCR3 may play an important role in the recruitment of lymphocytes, especially CTLs recruited to inflammation sites.