Natural killer cells (NK) acts a central player of the immune system in liver cirrhosis. The aim of this study was to examine the expression of activating intra-hepatic NK cell group 2D (NKG2D) in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and analyzed the correlation between NKG2D expression and prognosis of liver cirrhosis in these patients. This was a cross-section study. Subjects with liver biopsy or sponge hemangioma surgery were included. The primary outcome was the NKG2D expression on intra-hepatic NK cells and their subtype cells in patients with CHB-related liver cirrhosis. Subsequently, the correlation of expression of NKG2D and clinical characteristic indicators were assayed Among 38 subjects, 11 (28.95%) normal liver sections adjacent the sponge hemangioma (healthy group) were collected during surgery, and 27 (71.05%) CHB-cirrhosis tissues (Cirrhosis group) were preserved after liver biopsy. Compared with healthy group, sections from cirrhosis group revealed more severe inflammation and collagen deposition and lower NKG2D expression in hepatic NK cells. The proportion of hepatic NK cells and the mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) of NKG2D on hepatic NK cells showed a positive correlation with serum albumin (Alb) level, platelet (Plt) count. Moreover, they had a significantly negative correlation with patient prothrombin time (PT), international standardized ratio (INR), the sirius red positive stained area and fibrosis stages. Lower NKG2D expression in intra-hepatic NK cells may be predictive of poorer prognosis of CHB patients with cirrhosis.

中文翻译：

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肝脏自然杀伤细胞中较低的 NKG2D 表达预示慢性乙型肝炎肝硬化患者的预后较差

自然杀伤细胞 (NK) 在肝硬化中发挥着免疫系统的核心作用。本研究旨在检测慢性乙型肝炎（CHB）患者肝内活化NK细胞群2D（NKG2D）的表达情况，分析NKG2D表达与肝硬化患者预后的相关性。这是一项横断面研究。包括接受肝活检或海绵血管瘤手术的受试者。主要结果是 CHB 相关肝硬化患者肝内 NK 细胞及其亚型细胞的 NKG2D 表达。随后，分析NKG2D表达与临床特征指标的相关性。38名受试者中，术中收集11张（28.95%）海绵状血管瘤邻近正常肝切片（健康组），27张（71.05%）CHB肝硬化组织。肝硬化组）肝活检后保存。与健康组相比，肝硬化组切片显示肝脏NK细胞炎症和胶原沉积更严重，NKG2D表达更低。肝NK细胞比例及NKG2D在肝NK细胞上的平均荧光强度（MFI）与血清白蛋白（Alb）水平、血小板（Plt）计数呈正相关。此外，它们与患者凝血酶原时间（PT）、国际标准化比值（INR）、天狼星红阳性染色面积和纤维化阶段呈显着负相关。肝内 NK 细胞中较低的 NKG2D 表达可能预示着伴有肝硬化的 CHB 患者预后较差。