Mutations in Hepatitis D Virus Allow It to Escape Detection by CD8⁺ T Cells and Evolve at the Population Level.

ABSTRACT:

Background & aims

Hepatitis D virus (HDV) superinfection in patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV) is associated with rapid progression to liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Treatment options are limited, and no vaccine is available. Although HDV-specific CD8⁺ T cells are thought to control the virus, little is known about which HDV epitopes are targeted by virus-specific CD8⁺ T cells or why these cells ultimately fail to control the infection. We aimed to define how HDV escapes the CD8⁺ T-cell-mediated response.

Methods

We collected plasma and DNA samples from 104 patients with chronic HDV and HBV infection at medical centers in Europe and the Middle East, sequenced HDV, typed human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I alleles from pati

SUBMITTER: Karimzadeh H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6486497 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature