Abstract: Objective To explore the relationship between CD4⁺CD25⁺ regulatory T cells and different clinical outcomes after HBV infection. Methods Fresh isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells（PBMCs） in 26 patients with chronic hepatitis B（CHB）,15 with asymptomatic HBsAg carrier（ASC）,11 with liver cirrhosis（LC）and in 16 healthy donors were analyzed for the proportion of CD4⁺CD25⁺ regulatory T cells by using flow cytometry. Results The proportions of CD4⁺CD25⁺ regulatory T cells to CD4⁺ T cells in patients with CHB（4.40±2.76%） and ASC（4.43±2.10%） were higher than those in healthy donors（2.70±0.97%,P<0.01）;the percentage of CD4⁺CD25⁺ regulatory T cells was not correlated with serum HBV DNA level （r=0.018,P>0.05） or serum HBeAg positive or negative states （P>0.05）. Conclusion The level of CD4⁺CD25⁺ regulatory T cells in CHB patients was increased. It may be related to the chronicity of HBV infection.

Key words: Hepatitis B, Peripheral blood mononuclear cells, CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cell, Flow cytometry