Enhancing HBV-specific T cell responses through a combination of epigenetic modulation and immune checkpoint inhibition.

Objective: Chronic HBV infection (CHB) exhausts HBV-specific T cells, develops epigenetic imprints that impair immune responses, and limits the effectiveness of immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) monotherapy, such as αPD-L1. This study aimed to determine whether the DNA methyltransferase inhibitor decitabine (DAC) could reverse these epigenetic imprints and enhance ICI efficacy in restoring HBV-specific T cell responses.

Methods: We investigated HBV-specific T cell responses by 10-day in vitro stimulation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from patients with CHB.

MeTEor: an R Shiny app for exploring longitudinal metabolomics data.

Motivation: The availability of longitudinal omics data is increasing in metabolomics research. Viewing metabolomics data over time provides detailed insight into biological processes and fosters understanding of how systems react over time. However, the analysis of longitudinal metabolomics data poses various challenges, both in terms of statistical evaluation and visualization.

Different dynamics of soluble inflammatory mediators after clearance of respiratory SARS-CoV-2 versus blood-borne hepatitis C virus infections.

Viral infections can be acute or chronic, with the immune system pivotal in immunopathogenesis. The potential reversibility of inflammation post-viral elimination is of current interest. This study compares the dynamics of soluble inflammatory mediators (SIM) during and after respiratory infections with SARS-CoV-2 and blood-borne acute and chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections.

TIPS insertion leads to sustained reversal of systemic inflammation in patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis.

Background And Aims: Systemic Inflammation (SI) is considered a key mechanism in disease progression and development of complications in decompensated liver cirrhosis. SI is mainly driven by portal hypertension and bacterial translocation. Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS)-insertion represents an effective treatment for portal hypertension.

HBV shows different levels of adaptation to HLA class I-associated selection pressure correlating with markers of replication.

Background & Aims: Immune responses by CD8 T cells are essential for control of HBV replication. Although selection of escape mutations in CD8 T-cell epitopes has been previously described in HBV infection, its overall influence on HBV sequence diversity and correlation with markers of HBV replication remain unclear.

Methods: Whole-genome sequencing was applied to HBV isolates from 532 patients with chronic HBV infection and high-resolution HLA class I genotyping.