Humoral immunity in hepatitis B virus infection: Rehabilitating the B in HBV.

ABSTRACT: Insights into the immunopathogenesis of chronic HBV infections are fundamental in the quest for novel treatment approaches aimed at a functional cure. While much is known about the ineffective HBV-specific T-cell responses that characterise persistent HBV replication, B cells have been left largely understudied. However, an important role for humoral immunity during the natural history of HBV infections, as well as after functional cure, has been inadvertently revealed by the occurrence of HBV flares following B cell-depleting treatments. Herein, we review our current understanding of the role of the humoral immune response in chronic HBV, both at the level of HBV-specific antibody production and at the phenotypic and broader functional level of B cells. The recent development of fluoresce

SUBMITTER: Vanwolleghem T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8760517 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature