THE CORRELATION BETWEEN SMALL INTESTINAL BACTERIA OVERGROWTH AND DENDRITIC CELLS PHENOTYPE AND FUNCTION IN CIRRHOTIC PATIENTS WITH HEPATITIS B

DCs are sparsely, but widely distributed professional antigen presenting cells (APC). According to the maturity status is divided into precursor phase, immature DCs and mature DCs. DCs originated from pluripotent hematopoietic stem cells. Precursor phase DCs from bone marrow to peripheral blood , widely distributed in many parts of our body. Immature DCs capture antigens in the peripheral tissues, migrate through the lymph to the lymph nodes, developed into mature DCs, where they present their captured antigens to T cells.1, 2 DCs function is different in different differentiation phase. The mature DCs slowly loss of the ability in capture, processing and deal with the antigen and obtain the ability presentation of antigens to T cells during immune response. Thus, DCs are critical mediators of both innate and adaptive immune response. Hepatitis B cirrhosis patients have different degrees, various forms of DCs anomalies. The study found that the number and functional of DCs decline and mature obstacles in patients with chronic hepatitis B, which lead to antigen presenting function of DCs defect. DCs couldn't effectively present antigens to T cells during immune response. The organism does not adequately clear hepatitis B virus (HBV) and develop into liver fibrosis, liver cirrhosis.3, 4 The portal hypertension, liver malfunction, hyperemia and edema of intestinal mucosa, motility disturbance, enterohepatic circulation of cholate disturbance in cirrhosis affect the type of intestinal bacteria and its ability to planting, metabolize, promote intestinal bacteria disorder and bacterial translocation. The research about the relationship between intestinal bacteria and DCs in cirrhotic patients with hepatitis B is rather little at present. In our study, we researched the correlation between small intestinal bacteria overgrowth and dendritic cells phenotype and function in cirrhotic patients with hepatitis B. The report is illustrated by the following.