What Is the Current Status of Hepatitis B Virus Viro-Immunology?
What Is the Current Status of Hepatitis B Virus Viro-Immunology?
KEY POINTS
- Adaptive immune responses play a crucial role in antiviral protection during the resolution of acute hepatitis B.
- The natural course of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is associated with the evolution of the host immune response.
- In the context of the recently reviewed stages of chronic HBV infection, the previously called “immune tolerant” phase has been renamed “HBeAg 1 chronic infection,” because
- HBV patients in this phase have been shown to be immune active.
- In patients with chronic HBV infection, virus-specific T and B cells are dysfunctional.
- Different factors contribute to the immunologic impairment in chronic HBV infection including the prolonged exposure to viral antigens, upregulation of co-inhibitory receptors, T-cell intracellular pathways defects, and the multiple regulatory mechanisms active within the liver.