Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common cancer worldwide. Most of the HCC occur in developing countries. Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is an important risk factor for HCC development. HBV induces immune-mediated chronic hepatitis, liver injury, regeneration and scar forming responses, leading to an inflammatory, fibrotic and immune deficient microenvironment. HBV ma...

These studies document the ability of electroporation (EP)-based DNA vaccination to induce multi-specific CTL responses to hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA vaccination in normal mice and marked immune responses to multivalent HBV DNA immunization in larger animal species. These results suggest that electroporation-mediated HBV DNA vaccination is worth pursuing as a treatment for chronic HBV infection.

Genome-wide association studies have indicated that human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-DP and HLA-DQ play roles in persistent hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in Asia. To understand the evolution of HBV-related single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and to correlate these SNPs with chronic HBV infection among different populations, we conducted a global perspective study on hepatitis-related SNPs. ...

The mechanisms of chronic HBV infection and immunopathogenesis are poorly understood due to a lack of a robust small animal model. Here we report the development of a humanized mouse model with both human immune system and human liver cells by reconstituting the immunodeficient A2/NSG (NOD.Cg-Prkdc(scid) Il2rg(tm1Wjl)/SzJ mice with human HLA-A2 transgene) with human hematopoietic stem cells and...

BACKGROUND Immune cells and molecules play a vital role in initiating, maintaining, regulating immunological homeostasis and inflammation in many pathological and physiological processes; however, the changes on expressions and functions of these cells and molecules in hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection have not been elucidated well. OBJECTIVES The current study aimed to determine the expressi...

Abstract An estimated 296 million people worldwide suffer from chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, with 1.5 new infections occurring each year despite the availability of an effective vaccine. Chronic HBV infection persists in a dysfunctional immune environment, manifested by ineffective T cell response to virus. Patient HBV-specific CD8 +T cells have diminished proliferative capacity an...

We investigated the specific and cross-reactive CD8 T cell immunity to three natural variants (of different geno/serotype) of the small hepatitis B surface Ag (or S protein). The D(d)-binding variants of the S(201-209) epitope showed different immunogenicity. The loss of the consensus C-terminal (P9) anchor abrogated its immunogenicity. In contrast, a conservative (serine vs asparagine) exchang...

The hepatitis B virus (HBV) is an important international cause of infectious acute and chronic liver diseases. HBV vaccines were developed to combat the potential life-threatening effects of HBV infection. Published case histories, retrospective reviews and analyses of epidemiological data report on the onset of immune-mediated myelitis after recombinant HBV vaccination, mostly in adults with ...

Epidemiological studies have shown a relationship between hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and development of proteinuria in some patients (most commonly children), with a predominance for male gender and histological findings of membranous nephropathy on renal biopsy. The presence of immune complexes in the kidney suggests an immune complex basis for the disease, but a direct relation between...

BACKGROUND This study aimed to investigate the relationships of intrahepatic cccDNA with serum HBsAg and with HBV DNA in treatment-naive patients throughout acute and chronic HBV infection. METHODS A total of 120 patients who had a liver biopsy were enrolled, including 19 with acute hepatitis B (AHB), and 101 patients with chronic HBV infection (CHB) of whom were 10 in immune-tolerant (IT) ph...