Signatures of protective memory immune responses during hepatitis C virus reinfection.

ABSTRACT:

Background & aims

Development of a vaccine against hepatitis C virus (HCV) has been hindered by our limited understanding of immune correlates of protection during real-life exposure to the virus. We studied the immune response during HCV reinfection.

Methods

We analyzed blood samples from participants in the Montreal Acute Hepatitis C Injection Drug User Cohort Study who were reinfected with HCV from 2009 to 2012. Five patients spontaneously resolved their second infection and 4 developed chronic infections. We monitored the phenotypic and functional dynamics of HCV-specific memory T cell responses in all subjects during natural re-exposure and re-infection.

Results

Populations of CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells with HCV-specific polyfunctional memory were expanded in all

SUBMITTER: Abdel-Hakeem MS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4170061 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature