Prospective study of natural killer cell phenotype in recurrent hepatitis C virus infection following liver transplantation.

Background/Aims Graft re-infection invariably occurs after liver transplantation (OLT) for chronic hepatitis C and disease progression is unpredictable. We prospectively examined peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) subsets and natural killer (NK) cell receptors (NKRs) in patients with recurrent hepatitis C post-OLT. Methods PBMC were obtained at baseline and at different time points after OLT. NKRs were identified using monoclonal antibodies by flow cytometry. Results The proportions of NK, natural T (NT), total and γδ T cells were significantly reduced ( p p p ⩽0.01), appeared to be related to hepatitis C recurrence. There was a statistically significant correlation between expression of the natural cytotoxicity receptors (NCRs) and ALT ( p Conclusions The data are compatible with homing of immune cells to the liver allograft after surgery, most of which return to pre-OLT levels. HCV recurrence may cause variations in selected NKRs expression akin to other viral infections.