Insights From Antiviral Therapy Into Immune Responses to Hepatitis B and C Virus Infection.

Gastroenterology

Klinik für Innere Medizin II, University Hospital Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, Freiburg, Germany.

Published: January 2019

There are 257 million persons worldwide with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, a leading causes of liver cancer. Almost all adults with acute HBV infection have a rapid immune response to the virus, resulting in life-long immunity, but there is no cure for individuals with chronic HBV infection, which they acquire during early life. The mechanisms that drive the progression of HBV through distinct clinical phases to end-stage liver disease are poorly understood. Likewise, it is not clear whether and how immune responses can be modulated to allow control and/or clearance of intrahepatic HBV DNA. We review the innate and adaptive immune responses to acute and chronic HBV infections and responses to antiviral therapy. Comparisons with hepatitis C virus infection provide insights into the reversibility of innate inflammatory responses and the potential for successful therapy to recover virus-specific memory immune responses.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6340757PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1053/j.gastro.2018.08.061DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

immune responses
16
hepatitis virus
12
hbv infection
12
antiviral therapy
8
virus infection
8
chronic hbv
8
responses
6
hbv
6
immune
5
infection
5

Similar Publications

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!