Department of Immunology & Microbial Disease, Albany Medical College , Albany, New York, USA.
Microbiol Spectr. 2023 Dec 12;11(6):e0344723. doi: 10.1128/spectrum.03447-23. Epub 2023 Nov 10.
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a leading causative agent of viral hepatitis. A preventative vaccine has existed for decades, but only limited treatment options are available for people living with chronic HBV. Animal models for studying HBV are constrained due to narrow viral tropism, impeding understanding of the natural immune response to the virus. Here, using a vector to overcome the narrow host range and establish HBV replication in mice, we identified the role of helper T cells in controlling HBV. We show that helper T cells promote the B cell's ability to generate antibodies that remove HBV and its associated surface antigen from the blood and that transfer of purified helper T cells from HBV-immunized mice can reverse the accumulation of virus and antigen, furthering our understanding of the immune response to HBV.
乙型肝炎病毒（HBV）是病毒性肝炎的主要致病因子。一种预防性疫苗已经存在了几十年，但对于慢性 HBV 感染者，可用的治疗选择非常有限。由于病毒的宿主范围狭窄，用于研究 HBV 的动物模型受到限制，这阻碍了对病毒自然免疫反应的理解。在这里，我们使用载体克服了宿主范围狭窄的问题，并在小鼠中建立了 HBV 的复制，从而确定了辅助性 T 细胞在控制 HBV 中的作用。我们表明，辅助性 T 细胞促进了 B 细胞产生抗体的能力，从而清除血液中的 HBV 及其相关表面抗原，并且从乙型肝炎病毒免疫小鼠中转移纯化的辅助性 T 细胞可以逆转病毒和抗原的积累，进一步加深了我们对乙型肝炎病毒免疫反应的理解。
