Objective: To explore the effect of the drug-resistant attenuated Bacillus proteus on the protein expression of CD80 and CD86 in peripheral blood dendritic cells (DCs) of hepatitis B patients.
Method: Peripheral blood monocytes were isolated from HBV-infected patients and the DCs were separated and induced to differentiate in vitro. The expression of CD80 and CD86 proteins on cultured DCs were examined using flow cytometry.
Results: The expression rate of CD80 and CD86 of chronic hepatitis B patients increased significantly (P=0.000), while the positive expression rate of CD80 and CD86 showed no obvious variation in healthy individuals (P=0.185 and P=0.118, respectively).
Conclusions: Bacillus proteus can significantly increase CD80- and CD86-positive cell percentage in peripheral blood DCs of HBV-infected patients, but has no such an effect in healthy individuals.