Frequencies of dendritic cells and Toll-like receptor 3 in neonates born to HBsAg-positive mothers with different HBV serological profiles

Abstract

SUMMARYTo investigate the frequencies of dendritic cells (DCs) and Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) in neonates of HBsAg-positive mothers with different HBV serological profiles, we conducted a study in Taiyuan, China. The study included 144 HBsAg-positive mothers and their neonates. The frequencies of DCs and TLR3 were determined using four-colour flow-cytometric analysis. DC and TLR3 frequencies were not related to HBV intrauterine transmission, maternal HBeAg positivity, maternal HBV DNA positivity and HBeAg/HBV DNA double-positivity. The plasmacytoid dendritic cell (pDC) frequencies in neonates whose maternal HBV DNA was >5 × 107copies/ml decreased significantly compared to that in neonates whose maternal HBV DNA was ⩽5 × 107copies/ml (Z = − 2·170,P = 0·03) or whose maternal HBV DNA was negative (Z = − 1·981P = 0·048). This study suggests that neonatal pDC frequencies decrease when maternal HBV DNA loads are >5 × 107copies/ml.