Immunophenotyping profile of infectious mononucleosis caused by Epstein-Barr virus

Infekcijska mononukleoza uzrokovana virusom Epstein-Barr (EBV) u većine imunokompetentnih domaćina je samoograničavajuća infekcija koja se najčešće prenosi kapljicama sline zaražene osobe. U akutnoj fazi EBV zaražava epitelne stanice orofarinksa, a zatim limfocite B koje uništavaju citotoksični limfociti T. Nakon akutne faze, slijedi doživotna latentna infekcija. Različite subpopulacije limfocita na svojoj površini eksprimiraju velik broj specifičnih biljega koji omogućuju njihovu identifikaciju. Protočnom citometrijom određuje se apsolutni broj i postotak pojedinih staničnih subpopulacija te prepoznaju patološke promjene stanične imunosti što čini imunofenotipizacijski profil. U ovo istraživanje bili su uključeni ispitanici s kliničkom dijagnozom infekcijske mononukleoze uzrokovane EBV-om. Cilj ovog istraživanja bio je odrediti imunofenotipizacijski profil ispitanika s dijagnozom infekcijske mononukleoze protočnom citometrijom periferne krvi. Ispitanicima su se odredili postoci pojedinih limfocitnih subpopulacija periferne krvi: limfocita T, limfocita B, NK-stanica, CD4+ limfocita T, CD8+ limfocita T, aktiviranih CD8+CD38+ i HLA-DR+ limfocita T i zatim usporedili s referentnim vrijednostima za zdrave osobe. Zabilježeni su statistički značajno veći postoci ukupnih limfocita T, CD8+ limfocita T, aktiviranih CD8+CD38+ i HLA-DR+ limfocita T. Postoci CD4+ limfocita T i limfocita B statistički su značajno smanjeni. Apsolutni broj CD4+ limfocita T te postotak stanica NK ne pokazuju statistički značajna odstupanja od referentnih vrijednosti.Infectious mononucleosis caused by the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a self-limiting infection in most immunocompetent hosts that is commonly transmitted by droplets of saliva from infected person. During the acute phase, EBV infects oropharyngeal epithelial cells and B-lymphocytes which are destroyed by cytotoxic T-lymphocytes. Acute phase is followed by a lifelong latent infection. Different cell subsets express on its surface a large number of specific markers which enables their identification. Flow cytometry analyzes the number and ratio of specific cell subpopulations and recognizes the pathological changes of cellular immunity which presents immunophenotypic profile. This study included subjects with a clinical diagnosis of infectious mononucleosis caused by EBV. The aim of this study was to determine immunophenotypic profile of patients with a clinical diagnosis of infectious mononucleosis using flow cytometry. Percentages of certain lymphocyte subpopulations of peripheral blood; T lymphocytes, B lymphocytes, NK cells, CD4+ T lymphocytes, CD8+ T lymphocytes, activated CD8+CD38+ i HLA-DR T lymphocytes were determined for all patients in this study and then compared with reference values for healthy individuals. Patients with EBV-induced infectious mononucleosis showed significantly increased percentages of total T lymphocytes, cytotoxic CD8+ T lymphocytes and activated CD8+CD38+ and HLA-DR+ T lymphocytes compared to reference values. Percentages of CD4+ T lymphocytes, as well as B lymphocytes, were significantly decreased. Absolute numbers of CD4+ T lymphocytes and percentages of NK cells did not show a statistically significant difference from the reference values