@article{oai:kanazawa-u.repo.nii.ac.jp:00014669,
 author = {Sasaki, Motoko and Ikeda, Hiroko and Sawada, Seiko and Sato, Yasunori and Nakanuma, Yasuni},
 issue = {10},
 journal = {Journal of Clinical Pathology},
 month = {Oct},
 note = {Background: Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is an autoimmune liver disease targeting the intrahepatic small bile ducts showing chronic non-suppurative destructive cholangitis (CNSDC). Recent studies suggest that naturally-occurring CD4+CD25high regulatory T cells (Tregs) expressing Forkhead box P3 (Foxp3) play an active role in immunological self-tolerance. Aims: To investigate whether Foxp3+Tregs are involved in the pathogenesis of PBC. Methods: Foxp3+Tregs was detected immunohistochemically in livers from patients with PBC (n = 27), chronic viral hepatitis (CVH) (n = 15), and normal subjects (n = 10). The distribution of Tregs in portal tracts was semi-quantitatively evaluated in each groups. Levels of Foxp3, IL-10, TGFβ, IFNγ and TNFα mRNA was evaluated in PBC (n= 15) and control livers (n = 21) using semi-quantitative reverse transcriptase-PCR. Results: In PBC and CVH livers, the amounts of infiltrating Foxp3+Tregs in portal tracts were in parallel with the degree of portal inflammation irrespective of disease. The infiltration of Foxp3+Tregs into portal tracts with CNSDC in PBC was foremost in comparison with inflamed portal tracts in CVH or those without CNSDC in PBC (p<0.05). Focally, Tregs infiltrated into the biliary epithelial layer at the site of CNSDC. The level of Foxp3, IL-10 and TGFβ mRNA expression was high in PBC compared with normal livers (p<0.05). IFNγ and TNFα mRNA was high in early PBC and CVH livers. Conclusion: Results of this evaluation of Foxp3+Tregs do not suggest that the reduced regulatory function accounts for the development of CNSDC in PBC., 金沢大学医薬保健研究域医学系},
 pages = {1102--1107},
 title = {Naturally-occurring regulatory T cells are increased in inflamed portal tracts with cholangiopathy in primary biliary cirrhosis1102-1107},
 volume = {60},
 year = {2007}
}