Characterization of antigenic variants of hepatitis C virus in immune evasion.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Antigenic variation is an effective way by which viruses evade host immune defense leading to viral persistence. Little is known about the inhibitory mechanisms of viral variants on CD4 T cell functions.

Results

Using sythetic peptides of a HLA-DRB1*15-restricted CD4 epitope derived from the non-structural (NS) 3 protein of hepatitis C virus (HCV) and its antigenic variants and the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from six HLA-DRB1*15-positive patients chronically infected with HCV and 3 healthy subjects, the in vitro immune responses and the phenotypes of CD4+CD25+ cells of chronic HCV infection were investigated. The variants resulting from single or double amino acid substitutions at the center of the core region of the Th1 peptide not only induce fail

SUBMITTER: Wang JH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3158126 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature