Treg and Th17 cells involved in fibrosis progression of HBV-LF.

<p>(A) Representative dot plots of Treg (right panel) and Th17 (left panel) cells in age-and-sex matched HC and CHB subjects. (B) Subgroup analyses were performed in CHB patients with similar HBV loads (10⁵–10⁷ copies/mL) but with differing ALT levels (<i>n</i> = 57). With elevated ALT levels, Treg frequency decreased significantly whereas Th17 increased significantly. (C) Subgroup analyses were performed in CHB patients with normal ALT but differing virus loads (<i>n</i> = 13). With elevated virus loads, Treg frequency increased significantly whereas Th17 barely changed. (D) Subgroup analyses were performed in CHB patients with similar inflammation grades (G2–3) but with differing stages of fibrosis (<i>n</i> = 56). With elevated fibrosis stages, Treg frequency decreased significantly whereas Th17 increased significantly. Data in subfigures B–D are presented as each value and the mean value. **, <i>p</i><0.01; ***, <i>p</i><0.001; NS, not significant.