CD4+ T CELL IMMUNITY IN MOTHER-CHILD PAIRS INFECTED WITH HEPATITIS C VIRUS

这个子项目是许多研究子项目中的一个 由NIH/NCRR资助的中心赠款提供的资源。子项目及 研究者（PI）可能从另一个NIH来源获得了主要资金， 因此可以在其他CRISP条目中表示。所列机构为 研究中心，而研究中心不一定是研究者所在的机构。 我们推测，良性肝病的过程中获得HCV感染围产期的儿童可能与改善CD 4 +T细胞对HCV抗原的反应，在这些儿童相比，成人。 此外，我们将测试的假设，即调节细胞因子，促进细胞免疫反应，是升高的循环中的儿童相比，他们的母亲。 由于母亲和孩子在基因上相似，并且感染了相同的HCV毒株，因此母亲可以作为孩子的理想成年对照组。 研究人群将是20对感染丙型肝炎的母子和10对未感染的对照母子。 受试者（感染对和对照）将是在CHRMC胃肠病诊所参加门诊访视的患者及其母亲，这些患者及其母亲将在这些访视中进行血液检查。 儿童受试者必须至少1岁，体重超过7 kg。 将从母子配对中收集历史临床数据。第一次抽血将在他们在胃肠病诊所的诊所访视时进行，第二次抽血将安排在三个月后进行。 对照组在诊所访视时仅抽取一次血样。 在感染组和对照组中，将从母亲身上抽取30 ml血液，从儿童身上抽取10 ml血液。

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. We hypothesize that the benign liver disease course in children who acquire HCV infection perinatally may be related to improved CD4+T cell responsiveness to HCV antigens in the these children compared to adults. In addition, we will test the hypothesis that a regulatory cytokine, which promotes the cellular immune response, is elevated in the circulation of children compared with their mothers. Since mother-child pairs are genetically similar and infected by the same HCV strain, the mothers serve as an ideal adult comparison group to the children. The research population will be twenty mother-child pairs who both are infected with Hepatitis C and 10 control mother-child pairs who are not infected. The subjects, infected pairs and controls, will be patients and their mothers who are attending clinic visits in the CHRMC Gastroenterology Clinic and who will be having blood work done as part of these visits. The child subjects must be a t least one year of age and weigh more than 7 kg. Historical clinical data will be collected from the mother-child pairs. The blood first draw will be at the time of their clinic visit in the Gastroenterology clinic and the second draw will be scheduled for three months later. The control pairs will have only one blood draw done at the time of the clinic visit. In both infected and control groups, 30 ml of blood will be drawn from the mothers, 10ml from the children.