Defective natural killer cell anti-viral capacity in paediatric HBV infection
Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
Natural killer (NK) cells exhibit dysregulated effector function in adult chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection (CHB), which may contribute to virus persistence. The role of NK cells in children infected perinatally with HBV is less studied. Access to a unique cohort enabled the cross-sectional evaluation of NK cell frequency, phenotype and function in HBV-infected children relative to uninfected children. We observed a selective defect in NK cell interferon (IFN)-γ production, with conserved cytolytic function, mirroring the functional dichotomy observed in adult infection. Reduced expression of NKp30 on NK cells suggests a role of impaired NK-dendritic cell (DC) cellular interactions as a potential mechanism leading to reduced IFN-γ production. The finding that NK cells are already defective in paediatric CHB, albeit less extensively than in adult CHB, has potential implications for the timing of anti-viral therapy aiming to restore immune control.
Original language | English |
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Journal | Clinical and Experimental Immunology |
Volume | 179 |
Issue number | 3 |
Pages (from-to) | 466-76 |
Number of pages | 11 |
ISSN | 0009-9104 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Mar 2015 |
- Adolescent, Antigens, Viral/immunology, Cell Communication, Child, Child, Preschool, Cohort Studies, Cross-Sectional Studies, Cytotoxicity, Immunologic, Dendritic Cells/immunology, Down-Regulation, Female, Hepatitis B/immunology, Hepatitis B virus/immunology, Humans, Interferon-gamma/metabolism, Killer Cells, Natural/immunology, Male, Natural Cytotoxicity Triggering Receptor 3/genetics
Research areas
ID: 201902883