Clinical significance and determinants of T lymphocyte mitochondrial damage index in autoimmune hepatitis patients

Abstract

Abstract: Objective To investigate the clinical relevance of the T-lymphocyte mitochondrial damage index in autoimmune hepatitis patients and to identify factors influencing T-lymphocyte mitochondrial damage. Methods A total of 60 patients with autoimmune hepatitis admitted to our hospital between October 2021 and October 2023 were enrolled in this study. Levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), total bilirubin (TBil), and albumin (ALb) were measured using a Roche cobas 8000 Fully automated biochemical immunoassay analyzer(c701/c702). Antinuclear antibody (ANA) titers and immunoglobulin G(IgG) levels, were assessed via immunofluorescence. Mitochondrial status in peripheral blood T-lymphocytes was evaluated using an Agilent NovoCyte D3000 flow cytometer. Mitochondrial damage in helper T-lymphocytes (Th cells) and suppressor T-lymphocytes (Ts cells) was quatified through a built-in algorithm that compared mitochondrial staining values. Independent risk factors for T-lymphocyte mitochondrial damage in autoimmune hepatitis were analyzed using multifactorial logistic regression. Additionally, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was applied to assess the clinical diagnostic value of T-lymphocyte mitochondrial damage in these patients. Results In the injured group, the positive rates for ALT, ANA titers, IgG, CD4⁺ lymphocyte count, CD8⁺ lymphocyte count, mitochondrial damage rate of Th cells, and mitochondrial damage rate of Ts cells were (142.6±42.5) U/L, 93.3%, (19.6±4.8) g/L, (468.8±22.3) ×10⁶/L, (292.6± 32.3) × 10⁶/L, 86.7%, and 83.3%, respectively. These values were significantly higher than those in the uninjured group, which presented values of (123.5 ± 31.2) U/L, 37.5%, (16.2 ± 2.3) g/L, (417.6 ± 32.1) × 10⁶/L, (265.1 ± 29.3) × 10⁶/L, 25.0%, and 50.0%, respectively (P<0.05). Multifactorial logistic regression analysis indicated that elevated ALT, IgG, ANA titer positivity, CD4⁺ lymphocyte count, and CD8⁺ lymphocyte count were independent risk factors for T-lymphocyte mitochondrial damage in autoimmune hepatitis patients (OR=3.438, 3.804, 3.504, 3.114, 3.699, P<0.05). ROC curve analysis demonstrated that mitochondrial damage in both Th cells and Ts cells has high diagnostic value in identifying autoimmune hepatitis. Conclusion ALT, IgG, ANA titer positivity, CD4⁺ lymphocyte count, and CD8⁺ lymphocyte count are independent risk factors for T-lymphocyte mitochondrial damag in autoimmune hepatitis patients. Early detection of these indices is crucial for diagnosing T-lymphocyte mitochondrial damage. Additionally, mitochondrial damage in Th and Ts cells shows high diagnostic value for autoimmune hepatitis and can be used clinically to predic its occurrence.

Key words: T lymphocytes, Mitochondrial damage, Autoimmune hepatitis, Clinical significance, Influencing factors

CHEN Ke-yan, WU Ting, YANG Can. Clinical significance and determinants of T lymphocyte mitochondrial damage index in autoimmune hepatitis patients[J]. Chinese Hepatolgy, 2024, 29(11): 1409-1412.

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