Quantitative analysis of hepatitis C virus-specific CD8(+) T cells in peripheral blood and liver using peptide-MHC tetramers

Concerted synergy between viral-specific IgG and CD8 + T cells is critical for clearance of an HCV-related rodent hepacivirus

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Evidence assessing the role of B cells and their antibodies, or lack thereof, in the spontaneous resolution of acute HCV infection is conflicting. Utilization of a strictly hepatotropic, HCV-related rodent hepacivirus (RHV) model circumvents many of the challenges facing the field in characterizing the immunological correlates of dichotomous infection outcomes. This study seeks to elucidate the importance of B cells in the clearance of acute RHV infection.

APPROACH AND RESULTS

µMT mice were infected i.v. with RHV and found to develop chronic infection for over a year. Wild-type (WT) mice depleted of B cells also exhibited persistent viremia that resolved only upon B cell resurgence. The persistent infection developed by B1-8i and AID cre/cre mice revealed that antigen-specific, class-switched B cells or their antibodies were crucial for viral resolution. Virus-specific CD8 + and CD4 + T cells were characterized in these mice using newly developed major histocompatibility complex class I and II tetramers and ex vivo peptide stimulation. Immunoglobulin G (IgG) was purified from the serum of RHV- or lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus Armstrong-infected mice after viral clearance and passively transferred to AID cre/cre recipients, revealing viral clearance only in αRHV IgG recipients. Further, the transfer of αRHV IgG into B cell-depleted recipients also induced viral resolution. This ability of RHV-specific IgG to induce viral clearance was found to require the concomitant presence of CD8 + T cells.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings demonstrate a cooperative interdependence between immunoglobulins and the T cell compartment that is required for RHV resolution. Thus, HCV vaccine regimens should aim to simultaneously elicit robust HCV-specific antibody and T cell responses for optimal protective efficacy.

Marmosets as models of infectious diseases

Animal models of infectious disease often serve a crucial purpose in obtaining licensure of therapeutics and medical countermeasures, particularly in situations where human trials are not feasible, i.e., for those diseases that occur infrequently in the human population. The common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus), a Neotropical new-world (platyrrhines) non-human primate, has gained increasing attention as an animal model for a number of diseases given its small size, availability and evolutionary proximity to humans. This review aims to (i) discuss the pros and cons of the common marmoset as an animal model by providing a brief snapshot of how marmosets are currently utilized in biomedical research, (ii) summarize and evaluate relevant aspects of the marmoset immune system to the study of infectious diseases, (iii) provide a historical backdrop, outlining the significance of infectious diseases and the importance of developing reliable animal models to test novel therapeutics, and (iv) provide a summary of infectious diseases for which a marmoset model exists, followed by an in-depth discussion of the marmoset models of two studied bacterial infectious diseases (tularemia and melioidosis) and one viral infectious disease (viral hepatitis C).

Modelling T-cell immunity against hepatitis C virus with liver organoids in a microfluidic coculture system

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) remains a global public health challenge with an estimated 71 million people chronically infected, with surges in new cases and no effective vaccine. New methods are needed to study the human immune response to HCV since in vivo animal models are limited and in vitro cancer cell models often show dysregulated immune and proliferative responses. Here, we developed a CD8+ T cell and adult stem cell liver organoid system using a microfluidic chip to coculture 3D human liver organoids embedded in extracellular matrix with HLA-matched primary human T cells in suspension. We then employed automated phase contrast and immunofluorescence imaging to monitor T cell invasion and morphological changes in the liver organoids. This microfluidic coculture system supports targeted killing of liver organoids when pulsed with a peptide specific for HCV non-structural protein 3 (NS3) (KLVALGINAV) in the presence of patient-derived CD8+ T cells specific for KLVALGINAV. This demonstrates the novel potential of the coculture system to molecularly study adaptive immune responses to HCV in an in vitro setting using primary human cells.

Emerging Roles on Immunological Effect of Indoleamine 2,3-Dioxygenase in Liver Injuries

Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) is one of the initial rate-limiting enzymes of the kynurenine pathway (KP), which causes immune suppression and induction of T cell anergy. It is associated with the imbalance of immune homeostasis in numerous diseases including cancer, chronic viral infection, allergy, and autoimmune diseases. Recently, IDO has extended its role to liver field. In this review, we summarize the dysregulation and potentials of IDO in the emerging field of liver injuries, as well as current challenges for IDO targets. In particular, we discuss unexpected conclusions against previous work published. IDO is induced by pro-inflammatory cytokines in liver dysfunction and exerts an immunosuppressive effect, whereas the improvement of liver injury may require consideration of multiple factors besides IDO.

Liver-Resident Bystander CD8+ T Cells Contribute to Liver Disease Pathogenesis in Chronic Hepatitis D Virus Infection

BACKGROUND & AIMS

The hepatitis D virus (HDV) causes the most severe form of chronic hepatitis, often progressing to cirrhosis within 5 to 10 years. There is no curative treatment, and the mechanisms underlying the accelerated liver disease progression are unknown.

METHODS

Innate and adaptive immune responses were studied in blood and liver of 24 patients infected with HDV and 30 uninfected controls by multiparameter flow cytometry in correlation with disease severity and stage.

RESULTS

The 2 main intrahepatic innate immune-cell populations, mucosal-associated invariant T cells and natural killer (NK) cells, were reduced in the livers of patients infected with HDV compared with those of uninfected controls but were more frequently activated in the liver compared with the blood. Most intrahepatic cluster of differentiation (CD) 8-positive (CD8⁺) T cells were memory cells or terminal effector memory cells, and most of the activated and degranulating (CD107a⁺) HDV-specific and total CD8⁺ T cells were liver-resident (CD69⁺C-X-C motif chemokine receptor 6⁺). Unsupervised analysis of flow cytometry data identified an activated, memory-like, tissue-resident HDV-specific CD8⁺ T-cell cluster with expression of innate-like NK protein 30 (NKp30) and NK group 2D (NKG2D) receptors. The size of this population correlated with liver enzyme activity (r = 1.0). NKp30 and NKG2D expression extended beyond the HDV-specific to the total intrahepatic CD8⁺ T-cell population, suggesting global bystander activation. This was supported by the correlations between (i) NKG2D expression with degranulation of intrahepatic CD8⁺ T cells, (ii) frequency of degranulating CD8⁺ T cells with liver enzyme activity and the aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index score, and by the in vitro demonstration of cytokine-induced NKG2D-dependent cytotoxicity.

CONCLUSION

Antigen-nonspecific activation of liver-resident CD8⁺ T cells may contribute to inflammation and disease stage in HDV infection.

Towards a Systems Immunology Approach to Understanding Correlates of Protective Immunity against HCV

Over the past decade, tremendous progress has been made in systems biology-based approaches to studying immunity to viral infections and responses to vaccines. These approaches that integrate multiple facets of the immune response, including transcriptomics, serology and immune functions, are now being applied to understand correlates of protective immunity against hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and to inform vaccine development. This review focuses on recent progress in understanding immunity to HCV using systems biology, specifically transcriptomic and epigenetic studies. It also examines proposed strategies moving forward towards an integrated systems immunology approach for predicting and evaluating the efficacy of the next generation of HCV vaccines.

Chronic genotype 1 hepatitis C along with cirrhosis drives a persistent imprint in virus-specific CD8+ T cells after direct-acting antiviral therapies

Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection impairs HCV CD8⁺ T-cell responses, while it could influence immune responses towards unrelated viruses/vaccines (e.g. cytomegalovirus, CMV, and influenza, Flu). The aim of our study was to delineate whether restoration of these virus-specific CD8⁺ T cells occurs after direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapies and particularly in patients with cirrhosis. We performed longitudinal analysis (baseline, week 4, follow-up [FU] 12 and FU48) of virus-specific CD8⁺ T cells by multicolour flow cytometry in HCV-cirrhotic patients undergoing DAA therapy (n = 26) after in vitro expansion with immunodominant HCV, CMV and Flu epitopes restricted by HLA-A*02. HCV noncirrhotic patients (n = 9) and healthy individuals (n = 10) served as controls. We found that the proliferative capacity of HCV-specific CD8⁺ T cells increased from baseline up to FU48 in a significant proportion of cirrhotic and noncirrhotic patients. Nevertheless, these cells remained poor cytokine producers in both patient groups, regardless of the down-regulation of inhibitory co-regulatory receptors in HCV-cirrhotic patients at FU48. Likewise, high expression levels of these exhaustion markers were detected in CMV-/Flu-specific CD8⁺ T cells in HCV-cirrhotic patients at all time points, albeit without affecting their proliferative capacity or cytokine production. We conclude that DAA therapies induce restoration of the proliferative capacity of HCV-specific CD8⁺ T cells. However, these cells remain phenotypically and functionally impaired. Contrarily, the 'exhausted' phenotype in CMV-/Flu-specific CD8⁺ T cells in HCV-cirrhotic patients did not associate with their functions. Larger studier with longer follow-up may elucidate whether this complex interplay influences the outcome of cirrhotic patients.

Droplet encapsulation improves accuracy of immune cell cytokine capture assays

Quantification of cell-secreted molecules, e.g., cytokines, is fundamental to the characterization of immune responses. Cytokine capture assays that use engineered antibodies to anchor the secreted molecules to the secreting cells are widely used to characterize immune responses because they allow both sensitive identification and recovery of viable responding cells. However, if the cytokines diffuse away from the secreting cells, non-secreting cells will also be identified as responding cells. Here we encapsulate immune cells in microfluidic droplets and perform in-droplet cytokine capture assays to limit the diffusion of the secreted cytokines. We use microfluidic devices to rapidly encapsulate single natural killer NK-92 MI cells and their target K562 cells into microfluidic droplets. We perform in-droplet IFN-γ capture assays and demonstrate that NK-92 MI cells recognize target cells within droplets and become activated to secrete IFN-γ. Droplet encapsulation prevents diffusion of secreted products to neighboring cells and dramatically reduces both false positives and false negatives, relative to assays performed without droplets. In a sample containing 1% true positives, encapsulation reduces, from 94% to 2%, the number of true-positive cells appearing as negatives; in a sample containing 50% true positives, the number of non-stimulated cells appearing as positives is reduced from 98% to 1%. After cells are released from the droplets, secreted cytokine remains captured onto secreting immune cells, enabling FACS-isolation of populations highly enriched for activated effector immune cells. Droplet encapsulation can be used to reduce background and improve detection of any single-cell secretion assay.

Hepatitis C Vaccines, Antibodies, and T Cells

The development of vaccines that protect against persistent hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection remain a public health priority. The broad use of highly effective direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) is unlikely to achieve HCV elimination without vaccines that can limit viral transmission. Two vaccines targeting either the antibody or the T cell response are currently in preclinical or clinical trials. Next-generation vaccines will likely involve a combination of these two strategies. This review summarizes the state of knowledge about the immune protective role of HCV-specific antibodies and T cells and the current vaccine strategies. In addition, it discusses the potential efficacy of vaccination in DAA-cured individuals. Finally, it summarizes the challenges to vaccine development and the collaborative efforts required to overcome them.

Evidence of CD4+ T cell-mediated immune pressure on the Hepatitis C virus genome

Hepatitis C virus (HCV)-specific T cell responses are critical for immune control of infection. Viral adaptation to these responses, via mutations within regions of the virus targeted by CD8⁺ T cells, is associated with viral persistence. However, identifying viral adaptation to HCV-specific CD4⁺ T cell responses has been difficult although key to understanding anti-HCV immunity. In this context, HCV sequence and host genotype from a single source HCV genotype 1B cohort (n = 63) were analyzed to identify viral changes associated with specific human leucocyte antigen (HLA) class II alleles, as these variable host molecules determine the set of viral peptides presented to CD4⁺ T cells. Eight sites across the HCV genome were associated with HLA class II alleles implicated in infection outcome in this cohort (p ≤ 0.01; Fisher’s exact test). We extended this analysis to chronic HCV infection (n = 351) for the common genotypes 1A and 3A. Variation at 38 sites across the HCV genome were associated with specific HLA class II alleles with no overlap between genotypes, suggestive of genotype-specific T cell targets, which has important implications for vaccine design. Here we show evidence of HCV adaptation to HLA class II-restricted CD4⁺ T cell pressure across the HCV genome in chronic HCV infection without a priori knowledge of CD4⁺ T cell epitopes.

According to Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Infection Stage, Interleukin-7 Plus 4-1BB Triggering Alone or Combined with PD-1 Blockade Increases TRAF1low HCV-Specific CD8+ Cell Reactivity

Hepatitis C virus (HCV)-specific CD8⁺ T cells suffer a progressive exhaustion during persistent infection (PI) with HCV. This process could involve the positive immune checkpoint 4-1BB/4-1BBL through the loss of its signal transducer, TRAF1. To address this issue, peripheral HCV-specific CD8⁺ T cells (pentamer-positive [pentamer⁺]/CD8⁺ T cells) from patients with PI and resolved infection (RI) after treatment were studied. The duration of HCV infection and the liver fibrosis progression rate inversely correlated with the likelihood of detection of peripheral pentamer⁺/CD8⁺ cells. In PI, pentamer⁺/CD8⁺ cells had impaired antigen-specific reactivity that worsened when these cells were not detectable ex vivo Short/midduration PI was characterized by detectable peripheral PD-1⁺ CD127^low TRAF1^low cells. After triggering of T cell receptors (TCR), the TRAF1 level positively correlated with the levels of CD127, Mcl-1, and CD107a expression and proliferation intensity but negatively with PD-1 expression, linking TRAF1^low to exhaustion. In vitro treatment with interleukin-7 (IL-7) upregulated TRAF1 expression, while treatment with transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) did the opposite, suggesting that the IL-7/TGF-β1 balance, besides TCR stimulation, could be involved in TRAF1 regulation. In fact, the serum TGF-β1 concentration was higher in patients with PI than in patients with RI, and it negatively correlated with TRAF1 expression. In line with IL-7 increasing the level of TRAF1 expression, IL-7 plus 4-1BBL treatment in vitro enhanced T cell reactivity in patients with short/midduration infection. However, in patients with long-lasting PI, anti-PD-L1, in addition to the combination of IL-7 and 4-1BBL, was necessary to reestablish T cell proliferation in individuals with slowly progressing liver fibrosis (slow fibrosers) but had no effect in rapid fibrosers. In conclusion, a peripheral hyporeactive TRAF1^low HCV-specific CD8⁺ T cell response, restorable by IL-7 plus 4-1BBL treatment, characterizes short/midduration PI. In long-lasting disease, HCV-specific CD8⁺ T cells are rarely detectable ex vivo, but treatment with IL-7, 4-1BBL, and anti-PD-L1 recovers their reactivity in vitro in slow fibrosers.IMPORTANCE Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infects 71 million people worldwide. Two-thirds develop a chronic disease that can lead to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Direct-acting antivirals clear the infection, but there are still patients who relapse. In these cases, additional immunotherapy could play a vital role. A successful anti-HCV immune response depends on virus-specific CD8⁺ T cells. During chronic infection, these cells are functionally impaired, which could be due to the failure of costimulation. This study describes exhausted specific T cells, characterized by low levels of expression of the signal transducer TRAF1 of the positive costimulatory pathway 4-1BB/4-1BBL. IL-7 upregulated TRAF1 expression and improved T cell reactivity in patients with short/midduration disease, while in patients with long-lasting infection, it was also necessary to block the negative PD-1/PD-L1 checkpoint. When the results are taken together, this work supports novel ways of restoring the specific CD8⁺ T cell response, shedding light on the importance of TRAF1 signaling. This could be a promising target for future immunotherapy.

Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase: As a potential prognostic marker and immunotherapeutic target for hepatocellular carcinoma

Tumor cells induce an immunosuppressive microenvironment which leads towards tumor immune escape. Understanding the intricacy of immunomodulation by tumor cells is essential for immunotherapy. Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) is an immunosuppressive enzyme which mediates tumor immune escape in various cancers including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). IDO up-regulation in HCC may lead to recruitment of regulatory T-cells into tumor microenvironment and therefore inhibit local immune responses and promote metastasis. HCC associated fibroblasts stimulate natural killer cells dysfunction through prostaglandin E2 and subsequently IDO promotes favorable condition for tumor metastasis. IDO up-regulation induces immunosuppression and may enhance the risk of hepatitis C virus and hepatitis B virus induced HCC. Therefore, IDO inhibitors as adjuvant therapeutic agents may have clinical implications in HCC. This review proposes future prospects of IDO not only as a therapeutic target but also as a prognostic marker for HCC.

T Cell Distribution in Relation to HIV/HBV/HCV Coinfections and Intravenous Drug Use

Intravenous drug use (IDU) is one of the most important transmission routes for blood borne viruses, including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), and hepatitis C virus (HCV). These infections alter the subset distributions of T cells; however, knowledge of such effects during HIV, HBV, and or HCV coinfection is limited. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate any associations between T cell distribution and the presence of HIV, HBV, and HCV coinfections among persons who inject drugs (PWID). Blood samples from 88 Caucasian PWID (mean age 30; 82% male) and 47 age-matched subjects negative for all three infections (mean age of 29; 83% male) were analyzed. The T cell markers CD3, CD4, CD8, CD45RA, CCR7, HLA-DR, and CCR5 were assessed using flow cytometry. Of the PWID, 40% were HIV+HBV+HCV+, 20% HBV+HCV+, 19% HCV+, and 13% negative for all three infections. The HIV+HBV+HCV+ PWID had lower percentages of CD4⁺ and higher percentages of CD8⁺ cells compared to triple negative PWID (p < 0.001 in all cases). The only difference between HBV+HCV+ with triple negative PWID was the lower CD4⁺ cell percentages among the former (52.1% and 58.6%, p = 0.021). Triple negative PWID had higher immune activation and number of CCR5⁺ cells compared to the controls. We suggest that the altered T cell subset distribution among PWID is mainly triggered by HIV infection and or IDU, while HBV and or HCV seropositivity has minimal additional effects on CD4⁺ cell distribution.

Diagnostic performance of T lymphocyte subpopulations in assessment of liver fibrosis stages in hepatitis C virus patients: simple noninvasive score

BACKGROUND/AIMS

Evaluation of liver fibrosis in patients infected with hepatitis C virus is highly useful for the diagnosis of the disease as well as therapeutic decision. Our aim was to develop and validate a simple noninvasive score for liver fibrosis staging in chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients and compare its performance against three published simple noninvasive indexes.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

CHC patients were divided into two groups: an estimated group (n=70) and a validated group (n=52). Liver fibrosis was tested in biopsies using the Metavair score system. CD4 and CD8 count/percentage were assayed by fluorescence-activated cell sorting analysis.

RESULTS

The multivariate discriminant analysis selects a function on the basis of absolute values of five biochemical markers: immune fibrosis index (IFI); score=3.07+3.06×CD4/CD8+0.02×α-fetoprotein (U/l)-0.07×alanine aminotransferase ratio-0.005×platelet count (10/l)-1.4×albumin (g/dl). The IFI score produced areas under curve of 0.949, 0.947, and 0.806 for differentiation of all patient categories [significant fibrosis (F2-F4), advanced fibrosis (F3-F4), and cirrhosis (F4)].

CONCLUSION

The IFI score, a novel noninvasive test, can be used easily for the prediction of liver fibrosis stage in CHC patients. Our score was more efficient than aspartate aminotransferase to platelet ratio index, fibrosis index, and fibroQ and more suitable for use in Egyptian hepatitis C virus patients.

Virus-Specific Cellular Response in Hepatitis C Virus Infection

Studies performed on chimpanzees and humans have revealed that strong, multispecific and sustained CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cell immune responses is a major determinant of hepatitis C virus (HCV) clearance. However, spontaneous elimination of the virus occurs in minority of infected individuals and cellular response directed against HCV antigens is not persistent in individuals with chronic infection. This review presents characteristics of the HCV-specific T cell response in patients with different clinical course of infection, including acute and chronic infection, persons who spontaneously eliminated HCV and non-infected subjects exposed to HCV. Detection of HCV-specific response, especially in non-infected subjects exposed to HCV, may be indicative of HCV prevalence in population and rate of spontaneous viral clearance. Understanding the mechanisms and role of HCV-specific cellular immune response would contribute to better understanding of HCV epidemiology, immunopathogenesis and may help to design an effective vaccine.

Methodologies for the Analysis of HCV-Specific CD4(+) T Cells

Virus-specific CD4⁺ T cells play a major role in viral infections, such as hepatitis C virus (HCV). Viral clearance is associated with vigorous and multi-specific CD4⁺ T-cell responses, while chronic infection has been shown to be associated with weak or absent T-cell responses. Most of these studies have used functional assays to analyze virus-specific CD4⁺ T-cell responses; however, these and other detection methods have various limitations. Therefore, the important question of whether virus-specific CD4⁺ T cells are completely absent or primarily impaired in specific effector functions during chronic infection, has yet to be analyzed in detail. A novel assay, in which virus-specific CD4⁺ T-cell frequencies can be determined by de novo CD154 (CD40 ligand) expression in response to viral antigens, can help to overcome some of the limitations of functional assays and restrictions of multimer-based methods. This and other current established methods for the detection of HCV-specific CD4⁺ T cells will be discussed in this review.

T cell responses in hepatitis C virus infection: historical overview and goals for future research

Hepatitis C virus (HCV)-specific T cells are key factors in the outcome of acute HCV infection and in protective immunity. This review recapitulates the steps that immunologists have taken in the past 25years to dissect the role of T cell responses in HCV infection. It describes technical as well as disease-specific challenges that were caused by the inapparent onset of acute HCV infection, the difficulty to identify subjects who spontaneously clear HCV infection, the low frequency of HCV-specific T cells in the blood of chronically infected patients, and the lack of small animal models with intact immune systems to study virus-host interaction. The review provides a historical perspective on techniques and key findings, and identifies areas for future research.

Vaccine therapies for patients with glioblastoma

Glioblastoma (GBM) is a high-grade glial tumor with an extremely aggressive clinical course and a median overall survival of only 14.6 months following maximum surgical resection and adjuvant chemoradiotherapy. A central feature of this disease is local and systemic immunosuppression, and defects in patient immune systems are closely associated with tumor progression. Immunotherapy has emerged as an important adjuvant in the therapeutic armamentarium of clinicians caring for patients with GBM. The fundamental aim of immunotherapy is to augment the host antitumor immune response. Active immunotherapy utilizes vaccines to stimulate adaptive immunity against tumor-associated antigens. A vast array of vaccine strategies have advanced from preclinical study to active clinical trials in patients with recurrent or newly diagnosed GBM, including those that employ peptides, heat shock proteins, autologous tumor cells, and dendritic cells. In this review, the rationale for glioma immunotherapy is outlined, and the prevailing forms of vaccine therapy are described.

Distinctive intrahepatic characteristics of paediatric and adult pathogenesis of chronic hepatitis C infection

Mechanisms leading to liver damage in chronic hepatitis C (CHC) are being discussed, but both the immune system and the virus are involved. The aim of this study was to evaluate intrahepatic viral infection, apoptosis and portal and periportal/interface infiltrate in paediatric and adult patients to elucidate the pathogenesis of chronic hepatitis C. HCV-infected, activated caspase-3(+) and TUNEL(+) hepatocytes, as well as total, CD4(+), CD8(+), Foxp3(+) and CD20(+) lymphocytes infiltrating portal and periportal/interface tracts were evaluated in 27 paediatric and 32 adult liver samples by immunohistochemistry or immunofluorescence. The number of infected hepatocytes was higher in paediatric than in adult samples (p 0.0078). In children, they correlated with apoptotic hepatocytes (activated caspase-3(+) r = 0.74, p < 0.0001; TUNEL(+) r = 0.606, p 0.0017). Also, infected (p = 0.026) and apoptotic hepatocytes (p = 0.03) were associated with the severity of fibrosis. In adults, activated caspase-3(+) cell count was increased in severe hepatitis (p = 0.009). Total, CD4(+), CD8(+) and Foxp3(+) lymphocyte count was higher in adult samples (p < 0.05). Paediatric CD8(+) cells correlated with infected (r = 0.495, p 0.04) and TUNEL(+) hepatocytes (r = 0.474, p = 0.047), while adult ones correlated with activated caspase-3(+) hepatocytes (r = 0.387, p 0.04). In adults, CD8(+) was associated with hepatitis severity (p < 0.0001) and correlated with inflammatory activity (CD8(+) r = 0.639, p 0.0003). HCV, apoptosis and immune response proved to be involved in CHC pathogenesis of both paediatric and adult patients. However, liver injury in paediatric CHC would be largely associated with a viral cytopathic effect mediated by apoptosis, while in adults it would be mainly associated with an exacerbated immune response.

CD127 expression, exhaustion status and antigen specific proliferation predict sustained virologic response to IFN in HCV/HIV co-infected individuals

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the HIV co-infected population. Interferon-alpha (IFN-α) remains a major component of anti-HCV therapy despite its deleterious effects on the immune system. Furthermore, IFN-α was recently shown to diminish the size of the latent HIV reservoir. The objectives of this study were to monitor the impact of IFN-α on T cell phenotype and proliferation of HIV and HCV-specific T cells during IFN therapy, and to identify immune markers that can predict the response to IFN in HICV/HIV co-infected patients. We performed longitudinal analyses of T cell numbers, phenotype and function in co-infected patients undergoing IFN-α therapy with different outcomes including IFN-α non-responders (NR) (n = 9) and patients who achieved sustained virologic response (SVR) (n = 19). We examined the expression of activation (CD38, HLA-DR), functional (CD127) and exhaustion markers (PD1, Tim-3, CD160 and CD244) on total CD4 and CD8 T cells before, during and after therapy. In addition, we examined the HIV- and HCV-specific proliferative responses against HIV-p24 and HCV-NS3 proteins. Frequencies of CD127⁺ CD4 T cells were higher in SVR than in NR patients at baseline. An increase in CD127 expression on CD8 T cells was observed after IFN-α therapy in all patients. In addition, CD8 T cells from NR patients expressed a higher exhaustion status at baseline. Finally, SVR patients exhibited higher proliferative response against both HIV and HCV antigens at baseline. Altogether, SVR correlated with higher expression of CD127, lower T cell exhaustion status and better HIV and HCV proliferative responses at baseline. Such factors might be used as non-invasive methods to predict the success of IFN–based therapies in co-infected individuals.

Protective immunity against hepatitis C: many shades of gray

The majority of individuals who become acutely infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) develop chronic infection and suffer from progressive liver damage while approximately 25% are able to eliminate the virus spontaneously. Despite the recent introduction of new direct-acting antivirals, there is still no vaccine for HCV. As a result, new infections and reinfections will remain a problem in developing countries and among high risk populations like injection drug users who have limited access to treatment and who continue to be exposed to the virus. The outcome of acute HCV is determined by the interplay between the host genetics, the virus, and the virus-specific immune response. Studies in humans and chimpanzees have demonstrated the essential role of HCV-specific CD4 and CD8 T cell responses in protection against viral persistence. Recent data suggest that antibody responses play a more important role than what was previously thought. Individuals who spontaneously resolve acute HCV infection develop long-lived memory T cells and are less likely to become persistently infected upon reexposure. New studies examining high risk cohorts are identifying correlates of protection during real life exposures and reinfections. In this review, we discuss correlates of protective immunity during acute HCV and upon reexposure. We draw parallels between HCV and the current knowledge about protective memory in other models of chronic viral infections. Finally, we discuss some of the yet unresolved questions about key correlates of protection and their relevance for vaccine development against HCV.

Between Scylla and Charybdis: The role of the human immune system in the pathogenesis of hepatitis C

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) frequently elicits only mild immune responses so that it can often establish chronic infection. In this case HCV antigens persist and continue to stimulate the immune system. Antigen persistence then leads to profound changes in the infected host’s immune responsiveness, and eventually contributes to the pathology of chronic hepatitis. This topic highlight summarizes changes associated with chronic hepatitis C concerning innate immunity (interferons, natural killer cells), adaptive immune responses (immunoglobulins, T cells, and mechanisms of immune regulation (regulatory T cells). Our overview clarifies that a strong anti-HCV immune response is frequently associated with acute severe tissue damage. In chronic hepatitis C, however, the effector arms of the immune system either become refractory to activation or take over regulatory functions. Taken together these changes in immunity may lead to persistent liver damage and cirrhosis. Consequently, effector arms of the immune system will not only be considered with respect to antiviral defence but also as pivotal mechanisms of inflammation, necrosis and progression to cirrhosis. Thus, avoiding Scylla - a strong, sustained antiviral immune response with inital tissue damage - takes the infected host to virus-triggered immunopathology, which ultimately leads to cirrhosis and liver cancer - the realm of Charybdis.

HIV and co-infections

Despite significant reductions in morbidity and mortality secondary to availability of effective combination anti-retroviral therapy (cART), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection still accounts for 1.5 million deaths annually. The majority of deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa where rates of opportunistic co-infections are disproportionately high. In this review, we discuss the immunopathogenesis of five common infections that cause significant morbidity in HIV-infected patients globally. These include co-infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Cryptococcus neoformans, hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, and Plasmodium falciparum. Specifically, we review the natural history of each co-infection in the setting of HIV, the specific immune defects induced by HIV, the effects of cART on the immune response to the co-infection, the pathogenesis of immune restoration disease (IRD) associated with each infection, and advances in the areas of prevention of each co-infection via vaccination. Finally, we discuss the opportunities and gaps in knowledge for future research.

Cytometry, immunology, and HIV infection: three decades of strong interactions

Flow cytometry (FCM) has been extensively used to investigate immunological changes that occur from infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). This review describes some of the most relevant cellular and molecular changes in the immune system that can be detected by FCM during HIV infection. Finally, it will be discussed how this technology has facilitated the understanding not only of the biology of the virus but also of the mechanisms that the immune system activates to fight HIV and is allowing to monitor the efficacy of antiretroviral therapy.

The role of natural killer cells in hepatitis C infection

HCV infection is an exponentially growing health burden worldwide, with an estimated 170 million people infected. Although therapies for HCV are continually improving, there remain a considerable proportion of patients who do not achieve viral eradication and develop liver disease. Natural killer (NK) cells are crucial for T-cell activation and are one of the first-line sentinel cell responders to viral infection. A recent explosion in studies exploring the role of NK cells in HCV infection has yielded important mechanistic information and intriguing potential therapeutic options for HCV infection. This review provides a general overview of normal NK cell function and outlines some of the important mechanisms characterizing the immune interplay between NK cells and HCV infection.

Complementary role of HCV and HIV in T-cell activation and exhaustion in HIV/HCV coinfection

Objectives

To investigate whether T-cell activation and exhaustion is linked to HCV- and HIV disease parameters in HIV/HCV infected individuals, we studied T-cell characteristics in HIV/HCV coinfected patients and controls.

Methods

14 HIV/HCV coinfected, 19 HCV monoinfected, 10 HIV monoinfected patients and 15 healthy controls were included in this cross-sectional study. Differences in expression of activation and exhaustion markers (HLA-DR, CD38, PD-1, Tim-3 and Fas) and phenotypic markers on CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T-cells were analysed by flow cytometry and were related to HCV disease parameters (HCV-viremia, ALT and liver fibrosis).

Results

Frequencies of activated CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T-cells were higher in HIV/HCV-coinfected compared to healthy controls and HCV or HIV mono-infected individuals. Coinfected patients also showed high expression of the exhaustion marker PD-1 and death receptor Fas. In contrast, the exhaustion marker Tim-3 was only elevated in HIV-monoinfected patients. T-cell activation and exhaustion were correlated with HCV-RNA, suggesting that viral antigen influences T-cell activation and exhaustion. Interestingly, increased percentages of effector CD8⁺ T-cells were found in patients with severe (F3–F4) liver fibrosis compared to those with no to minimal fibrosis (F0–F2).

Conclusions

HIV/HCV coinfected patients display a high level of T-cell activation and exhaustion in the peripheral blood. Our data suggest that T-cell activation and exhaustion are influenced by the level of HCV viremia. Furthermore, high percentages of cytotoxic/effector CD8⁺ T-cells are associated with liver fibrosis in both HCV monoinfected and HIV/HCV coinfected patients.

Hepatitis C virus-specific T-cell-derived transforming growth factor beta is associated with slow hepatic fibrogenesis

Hepatitis C virus (HCV)-specific immune effector responses can cause liver damage in chronic infection. Hepatic stellate cells (HSC) are the main effectors of liver fibrosis. TGFβ, produced by HCV-specific CD8(+) T cells, is a key regulatory cytokine modulating HCV-specific effector T cells. Here we studied TGFβ as well as other factors produced by HCV-specific intrahepatic lymphocytes (IHL) and peripheral blood cells in hepatic inflammation and fibrogenesis. This was a cross-sectional study of two well-defined groups of HCV-infected subjects with slow (≤ 0.1 Metavir units/year, n = 13) or rapid (n = 6) liver fibrosis progression. HCV-specific T-cell responses were studied using interferon-gamma (IFNγ)-ELISpot ±monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) blocking regulatory cytokines, along with multiplex, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and multiparameter fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS). The effects of IHL stimulated with HCV-core peptides on HSC expression of profibrotic and fibrolytic genes were determined. Blocking regulatory cytokines significantly raised detection of HCV-specific effector (IFNγ) responses only in slow fibrosis progressors, both in the periphery (P = 0.003) and liver (P = 0.01). Regulatory cytokine blockade revealed HCV-specific IFNγ responses strongly correlated with HCV-specific TGFβ, measured before blockade (R = 0.84, P = 0.0003), with only a trend to correlation with HCV-specific IL-10. HCV-specific TGFβ was produced by CD8 and CD4 T cells. HCV-specific TGFβ, not interleukin (IL)-10, inversely correlated with liver inflammation (R = -0.63, P = 0.008) and, unexpectedly, fibrosis (R = -0.46, P = 0.05). In addition, supernatants from HCV-stimulated IHL of slow progressors specifically increased fibrolytic gene expression in HSC and treatment with anti-TGFβ mAb abrogated such expression.

CONCLUSION

Although TGFβ is considered a major profibrogenic cytokine, local production of TGFβ by HCV-specific T cells appeared to have a protective role in HCV-infected liver, together with other T-cell-derived factors, ameliorating HCV liver disease progression.

Hepatitis C virus-mediated modulation of cellular immunity

The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major cause of chronic liver disease globally. A chronic infection can result in liver fibrosis, liver cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma and liver failure in a significant ratio of the patients. About 170 million people are currently infected with HCV. Since 80 % of the infected patients develop a chronic infection, HCV has evolved sophisticated escape strategies to evade both the innate and the adaptive immune system. Thus, chronic hepatitis C is characterized by perturbations in the number, subset composition and/or functionality of natural killer cells, natural killer T cells, dendritic cells, macrophages and T cells. The balance between HCV-induced immune evasion and the antiviral immune response results in chronic liver inflammation and consequent immune-mediated liver injury. This review summarizes our current understanding of the HCV-mediated interference with cellular immunity and of the factors resulting in HCV persistence. A profound knowledge about the intrinsic properties of HCV and its effects on intrahepatic immunity is essential to be able to design effective immunotherapies against HCV such as therapeutic HCV vaccines.

Immunology of hepatitis C virus infections

The immune response in patients chronically infected with HCV plays a unique role during the infection because of its potential to contribute not only to viral clearance and, in some cases, protective immunity, but also to liver injury. A detailed understanding of the immunological mechanisms involved in persistence to HCV is essential to fully appreciate the complexity of the disease. In recent years, enormous progress has been made to characterize the dysfunctional natural killer cells and T cells during the chronic phase of infection. This information is important to further optimize treatment strategies based on the strengthening antiviral and immunomodulatory activities in patients chronically infected with HCV.

Therapeutic vaccination against chronic hepatitis C virus infection

Approximately 170 million people worldwide are chronic carriers of Hepatitis C virus (HCV). To date, there is no prophylactic vaccine available against HCV. The standard-of-care therapy for HCV infection involves a combination of pegylated interferon-α and ribavirin. This therapy, which is commonly associated with side effects, has a curative rate varying from 43% (HCV genotype 1) to 80% (HCV genotype 2). In 2011, two direct-acting antiviral agents, telaprevir and boceprevir, were approved by the US Food and drug Administration and are now being used in combination with standard-of-care therapy in selected patients infected with HCV genotype 1. Although both drugs are promising, resulting in a shortening of therapy, these drugs also induce additional side effects and have reduced efficacy in patients who did not respond to standard-of-care previously. An alternative approach would be to treat HCV by stimulating the immune system with a therapeutic vaccine ideally aimed at (i) the eradication of HCV-infected cells and (ii) neutralization of infectious HCV particles. The challenge is to develop therapeutic vaccination strategies that are either at least as effective as antiviral drugs but with lower side effects, or vaccines that, when combined with antiviral drugs, can circumvent long-term use of these drugs thereby reducing their side effects. In this review, we summarize and discuss recent preclinical developments in the area of therapeutic vaccination against chronic HCV infection. Although neutralizing antibodies have been described to exert protective immunity, clinical studies on the induction of neutralizing antibodies in therapeutic settings are limited. Therefore, we will primarily discuss therapeutic vaccines which aim to induce effective cellular immune response against HCV.

Immunogenicity and cross-reactivity of a representative ancestral sequence in hepatitis C virus infection

Vaccines designed to prevent or to treat hepatitis C viral infection must achieve maximum cross-reactivity against widely divergent circulating strains. Rational approaches for sequence selection to maximize immunogenicity and minimize genetic distance across circulating strains may enhance vaccine induction of optimal cytotoxic T cell responses. We assessed T cell recognition of potential hepatitis C virus (HCV) vaccine sequences generated using three rational approaches: combining epitopes with predicted tight binding to the MHC, consensus sequence (most common amino acid at each position), and representative ancestral sequence that had been derived using bayesian phylogenetic tools. No correlation was seen between peptide-MHC binding affinity and frequency of recognition, as measured by an IFN-γ T cell response in HLA-matched HCV-infected individuals. Peptides encoding representative, consensus, and natural variant sequences were then tested for the capacity to expand CD8 T cell populations and to elicit cross-reactive CD8 T cell responses. CD8(+) T cells expanded with representative sequence HCV generally more broadly and robustly recognized highly diverse circulating HCV strains than did T cells expanded with either consensus sequence or naturally occurring sequence variants. These data support the use of representative sequence in HCV vaccine design.

Living in the liver: hepatic infections

The liver has vital metabolic and clearance functions that involve the uptake of nutrients, waste products and pathogens from the blood. In addition, its unique immunoregulatory functions mediated by local expression of co-inhibitory receptors and immunosuppressive mediators help to prevent inadvertent organ damage. However, these tolerogenic properties render the liver an attractive target site for pathogens. Although most pathogens that reach the liver via the blood are eliminated or controlled by local innate and adaptive immune responses, some pathogens (such as hepatitis viruses) can escape immune control and persist in hepatocytes, causing substantial morbidity and mortality worldwide. Here, we review our current knowledge of the mechanisms of liver targeting by pathogens and describe the interplay between pathogens and host factors that promote pathogen elimination and maintain organ integrity or that allow pathogen persistence.

Naive, effector and memory CD8 T-cell trafficking: parallels and distinctions

Trafficking of CD8 T cells, in both the steady-state and during episodes of infection or inflammation, is a highly dynamic process and involves a variety of receptor-ligand interactions. A thorough, mechanistic understanding of how this process is regulated could potentially lead to disease prevention strategies, through either enhancing (for infectious diseases or tumors) or limiting (for autoimmunity) recruitment of antigen-specific CD8 T cells to areas of tissue inflammation. As CD8 T cells transition from naive to effector to memory cells, changes in gene expression will ultimately dictate anatomical localization of these cells in vivo. In this article, we discuss recent advances in understanding how antigenic stimulation influences expression of various trafficking receptors and ligands, and how this determines the tissue localization of CD8 T cells.

Immunopathogenesis of HIV/hepatitis C virus coinfection

As a result of shared infection routes, approximately 25% of individuals infected with HIV in North America are also infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV). In the setting of HIV coinfection, the course of HCV disease is more aggressive, resulting in higher HCV viral loads and a more rapid progression of liver pathology. With the success of HAART, HCV-related end-stage liver disease has become a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in HIV/HCV-coinfected patients. In this article, we will discuss recent studies examining the immune response during HIV and HCV coinfection, focusing on alterations or dysfunctions in virus-specific T-cell responses that may play a role in the immunopathogenesis of HIV/HCV coinfection. Summarizing the impact of HIV coinfection on HCV-specific T-cell immunity and highlighting some of the proposed mechanisms of T-cell dysfunction in HIV/HCV-coinfected individuals may uncover information that could lead to new treatment strategies for these patients experiencing accelerated liver disease and generally poorer outcomes than their HCV-monoinfected counterparts.

Down-regulation of intra-hepatic T-cell signaling associated with GB virus C in a HCV/HIV co-infected group with reduced liver disease

BACKGROUND & AIMS

Studies have shown that GB virus C (GBV-C) infection leads to reduced liver disease in hepatitis C virus (HCV)/human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) co-infection. Considering that the underlying mechanism(s) are unknown, we aim to identify differential gene and protein expression associated with GBV-C in HCV/HIV co-infection that may be responsible for reduced liver disease.

METHODS

Liver, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), and plasma samples were collected from 43 HCV/HIV patients. Plasma was tested for GBV-C RNA by RT-PCR with NS5B gene primers. A microarray was performed on the liver and RT-qPCRs on the liver/PBMC samples. Hepatic protein expression was measured by immunohistochemistry.

RESULTS

Sixteen out of 43 patients had GBV-C RNA. GBV-C was associated with reduced hepatic fibrosis (p=0.005) and inflammation (p=0.007). The microarray analysis of the liver samples (n=10) showed down-regulation of genes critical to intra-hepatic T-cell signaling associated with GBV-C. Quantitative RT-PCR of the liver samples (n=13) confirmed the down-regulation of lymphocyte-specific protein tyrosine kinase (LCK) (p=0.02) and docking protein 2 (DOK2) (p=0.04). No differences in the expression levels of these genes were observed in PBMCs (n=22) according to the GBV-C status. The hepatic expression of the LCK protein, measured by immunohistochemistry (n=36), was decreased in CD3-positive T-cells within portal tracts associated with GBV-C (p=0.003). This remained significant in multivariate analysis controlling for hepatic fibrosis and inflammation (p=0.027). No differences were observed in plasma cytokine concentrations (n=25) or ex-vivo peripheral T-cell responses (n=13) versus GBV-C status.

CONCLUSIONS

GBV-C infection is associated with down-regulation of critical genes involved in intra-hepatic T-cell signaling in HCV/HIV co-infection. This may be relevant to the pathogenesis of reduced HCV-related liver disease in HIV co-infection.

A broadly applicable approach to T cell epitope identification: application to improving tumor associated epitopes and identifying epitopes in complex pathogens

Epitopes are a hallmark of the antigen specific immune response. The identification and characterization of epitopes is essential for modern immunologic studies, from investigating cellular responses against tumors to understanding host/pathogen interactions especially in the case of bacteria with intracellular residence. Here, we have utilized a novel approach to identify T cell epitopes exploiting the exquisite ability of particulate antigens, in the form of beads, to deliver exogenous antigen to both MHC class I and class II pathways for presentation to T cell hybridomas. In the current study, we coupled this functional assay with two distinct protein expression libraries to develop a methodology for the characterization of T cell epitopes. One set of expression libraries containing single amino acid substitutions in a defined epitope sequence was interrogated to identify epitopes with enhanced T cell stimulation for a MHC class I epitope. The second expression library is comprised of the majority of open reading frames from the intracellular pathogen and potential biowarfare agent, Francisella tularensis. By automating aspects of this technology, we have been able to functionally screen and identify novel T cell epitopes within F. tularensis. We have also expanded upon these studies to generate a novel expression vector that enables immunization of recombinant protein into mice, which has been utilized to facilitate T cell epitope discovery for proteins that are critically linked to Francisella pathogenicity. This methodology should be applicable to a variety of systems and other pathogens.

A spatial view of the CD8+ T-cell response: the case of HCV

In viral infections, a memory T-cell population comprises multiple subtypes of cells, distributed in diverse anatomic compartments and possibly re-circulating among them. Accordingly, memory T cells display distinct phenotypes and functions, depending on the nature of the infecting virus, the anatomic location of the infection, and the differences between the sites of active infection and T-cell collection. This paper explores the body compartments where virus-specific CD8(+) T cells have been found during chronic hepatitis C virus infection, describes the cells' memory qualities, and discusses how they are spatially regulated, in comparison with other human viral infections. Understanding the role of compartmentalization and diversity of HCV-specific memory T-cell subsets may be the key to developing effective immunotherapies.

Strong CD8+ T cell antigenicity and immunogenicity of large foreign proteins incorporated in HIV-1 VLPs able to induce a Nef-dependent activation/maturation of dendritic cells

Virus-like particles (VLPs) are excellent tools for vaccines against pathogens and tumors. They can accommodate foreign polypeptides whose incorporation efficiency and immunogenicity however decrease strongly with the increase of their size. We recently described the CD8(+) T cell immune response against a small foreign antigen (i.e., the 98 amino acid long human papilloma virus E7 protein) incorporated in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 based VLPs as product of fusion with an HIV-1 Nef mutant (Nef(mut)). Here, we extended our previous investigations by testing the antigenic/immunogenic properties of Nef(mut)-based VLPs incorporating much larger heterologous products, i.e., human hepatitis C virus (HCV) NS3 and influenza virus NP proteins, which are composed of 630 and 498 amino acids, respectively. We observed a remarkable cross-presentation of HCV NS3 in dendritic cells challenged with Nef(mut)-NS3 VLPs, as detected using a NS3 specific CD8(+) T cell clone as well as PBMCs from HCV infected patients. On the other hand, when injected in mice, Nef(mut)-NP VLPs elicited strong anti-NP CD8(+) T cell and CTL immune responses. In addition, we revealed the ability of Nef(mut) incorporated in VLPs to activate and mature primary human immature dendritic cells (iDCs). This phenomenon correlated with the activation of Src tyrosine kinase-related intracellular signaling, and can be transmitted from VLP-challenged to bystander iDCs. Overall, these results prove that Nef(mut)-based VLPs represent a rather flexible platform for the design of innovative CD8(+) T cell vaccines.

Stronger hepatitis C virus-specific CD8+ T-cell responses in HIV coinfection

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a widespread chronic infection that shares routes of transmission with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Thus, coinfection with these viruses is a relatively common and growing problem. In general, liver disease develops over years with HIV coinfection, when compared to decades in HCV monoinfection. The role of the immune system in the accelerated pathogenesis of liver disease in HIV/HCV coinfection is not clear. In this study, we compared the frequency, magnitude, breadth and specificity of peripheral blood CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell responses between HCV-monoinfected and HCV/HIV-coinfected individuals and between HIV/HCV-coinfected subgroups distinguished by anti-HCV antibody and HCV RNA status. While HIV coinfection tended to reduce the frequency and breadth of anti-HCV CD8+ T-cell responses in general, responses that were present were substantially stronger than in monoinfection. In all groups, HCV-specific CD4+ T-cell responses were rare and weak, independent of either nadir or concurrent CD4+ T-cell counts of HIV-infected individuals. Subgroup analysis demonstrated restricted breadth of CD8+ HCV-specific T-cell responses and lower B-cell counts in HIV/HCV-coinfected individuals without anti-HCV antibodies. The greatest difference between HIV/HCV-coinfected and HCV-monoinfected groups was substantially stronger HCV-specific CD8+ T-cell responses in the HIV-coinfected group, which may relate to accelerated liver disease in this setting.

CD8+ T-cell differentiation in chronic HCV infection

HCV has the tendency to persist in the majority of infected patients despite the presence of virus-specific CD8+ T-cell responses. The HCV-specific CD8+ T-cell pool consists of heterogenous subsets that can be elegantly distinguished by CD127 expression. Indeed, HCV-specific CD8+ T cells with high levels of CD127 expression are characterized by features consistent with memory differentiation, while HCV-specific CD8+ T cells with low levels of CD127 expression display an exhausted phenotype characterized by the coexpression of PD-1 and other inhibitory receptors. In this article, the current knowledge about the phenotypes and differentiation profiles of HCV-specific CD8+ T cells is summarized. Clearly, the differentiation of HCV-specific CD8+ T cells in chronic HCV infection results from complex virus–host interactions, and both viral and immunological factors shape the HCV-specific CD8+ T-cell pool.

Adaptive immunity to the hepatitis C virus

The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a global public health problem affecting approximately 2% of the human population. The majority of HCV infections (more than 70%) result in life-long persistence of the virus that substantially increases the risk of serious liver diseases, including cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The remainder (less than 30%) resolves spontaneously, often resulting in long-lived protection from persistence upon reexposure to the virus. To persist, the virus must replicate and this requires effective evasion of adaptive immune responses. In this review, the role of humoral and cellular immunity in preventing HCV persistence, and the mechanisms used by the virus to subvert protective host responses, are considered.

Hepatitis C virus-specific CD8+ T cell frequencies are associated with the responses of pegylated interferon-α and ribavirin combination therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection

AIM

  Hepatitis C virus (HCV)-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) play critical roles in elimination of the HCV-infected hepatocytes. However, the mechanism of HCV elimination by pegylated interferon-α (peg-IFNα) plus ribavirin is not fully understood. We examined HCV-specific CTL responses during this combination therapy.

METHODS

  CD8+ T cells were isolated from 16 HCV infected patients treated by this combination therapy and were subjected to IFN-γ enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) assay.

RESULTS

  The numbers of IFN-γ spots against HCV Core or NS3 protein-derived peptides in HCV patients before treatment were similar to those in healthy donors, and those in HCV patients significantly increased 4 weeks after the initiation of combination therapy. All HCV Core or NS3 proteins-derived peptides specific CD8+ T cells responses in pre-treated patients were not associated with ALT levels and HCV viral loads of HCV patients before treatment. And those in pre-treated patients were similar between sustained virologic responder (SVR) patients and non-SVR patients. Significant increase of HCV Core or NS3 proteins-derived peptides specific CD8+ T cells responses between before and 4 weeks after this combination therapy were observed in SVR patients, but not in non-SVR patients.

CONCLUSIONS

  These results demonstrated that significant increase of HCV-specific CD8+ T cells at 4 weeks after the initiation of IFN treatment might be associated with the elimination of HCV. Our findings suggest that the reactivity against HCV Core and NS3 proteins-derived peptides might be useful in predicting the clinical outcome of the combination therapy of peg-IFNα and ribavirin.

PD-1 expression on peripheral CD8+ TEM/TEMRA subsets closely correlated with HCV viral load in chronic hepatitis C patients

BACKGROUND

Tight correlation between host circulating CD8+ T cell-mediated immune response and control of viral replication is classical characteristic of long-term HCV infection. CD8+ T cell maturation/activation markers are expected to be associated with viral replication and disease progression in chronic HCV infection. The aim of the present study was to explore novel markers on CD8+ T cells with ability to evaluate HCV viral replication and disease progression.

METHODS

PBMCs were isolated from 37 chronic HCV-infected patients and 17 healthy controls. Distributed pattern of CD8+ T cells subsets and expression of PD-1, CD38, HLA-DR and CD127 were analyzed by flow cytometry. The correlation between expression of surface markers and HCV viral load or ALT was studied.

RESULTS

Declined naïve and increased TEMRA CD8+ T subsets were found in HCV-infected individuals compared with healthy controls. Percentage and MFI of PD-1, CD38 and HLA-DR on all CD8+ T cell subsets were higher in HCV-infected patients than healthy controls. In contrast, CD127 expression on CD8+ TCM showed an opposite trend as PD-1, CD38 and HLA-DR did. In chronic HCV infection, MFI of PD-1 on CD8+ TEM (p < 0.0001) and TEMRA (p = 0.0015) was positively correlated with HCV viral load while HLA-DR expression on non-naive CD8+ T cell subsets (p < 0.05) was negatively correlated with HCV viral load.

CONCLUSION

PD-1 level on peripheral CD8+ TEM/TEMRA was highly correlated with HCV viral load in chronic HCV-infected patients, which made PD-1 a novel indicator to evaluate HCV replication and disease progression in chronic hepatitis C patients.

Adoptive transfer of splenocytes to study cell-mediated immune responses in hepatitis C infection using HCV transgenic mice

Background

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major cause of chronic hepatitis and a health problem affecting over 170 million people around the world. We previously studied transgenic mice that express HCV Core, Envelope 1 and Envelope 2 proteins predominantly in the liver, resulting in steatosis, liver and lymphoid tumors, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Herein, the immune-mediated cell response to hepatitis C antigens was evaluated by adoptive transfers of carboxyfluorescein succinimidyl ester (CFSE) labelled splenocytes from HCV immunized mice into HCV transgenic mice.

Results

In comparison to non-transgenic mice, there was a significant decrease in the percentage of CFSE-labeled CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells in transgenic mouse peripheral blood receiving adoptive transfers from immunized donors. Moreover, the percentage of CFSE-labeled CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells were significantly higher in the spleen of transgenic and non-transgenic mice when they received splenocytes from non-immunized than from immunized mice. On the other hand, the percentages of CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells in the non-transgenic recipient mouse lymph nodes were significantly higher than the transgenic mice when they received the adoptive transfer from immunized donors. Interestingly, livers of transgenic mice that received transfers from immunized mice had a significantly higher percentage of CFSE labeled T cells than livers of non-transgenic mice receiving non-immunized transfers.

Conclusions

These results suggest that the T cells from HCV immunized mice recognize the HCV proteins in the liver of the transgenic mouse model and homed to the HCV antigen expression sites. We propose using this model system to study active T cell responses in HCV infection.

Approach towards optimal physiological T-cell-mediated immune response

Evaluation of: Kirak O, Frickel EV, Grotenbreg GM et al.: Transnuclear mice with predefined T cell receptor specificities against Toxoplasma gondii obtained via SCNT. Science 238, 243–248 (2010). Transgenic mice with defined T-cell receptor (TCR) specificity are useful for studying the involvement of T-cell-mediated immune responses to antigenic epitopes. However, these transgenic mice were not easily established. Their creation is time consuming due to several hindrances such as random integration of the α- and β-chains of the transgenic TCR and the presence of exogenous promoter, among others. These drawbacks explain why only a few TCR transgenic mice are available so far. Somatic cell nuclear transfer represents another means to generate mice with defined TCR specificity. Kirak et al. described an experimental model based on somatic cell nuclear transfer that allowed them to obtain mice harboring TCR specific to Toxoplasma gondii. The apparent ease in establishing this experimental model could lead to the generation of mice with defined T-cell immune responses against other antigens in the near future.

Hepatitis C virus evasion of adaptive immune responses: a model for viral persistence

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infects over 170 million people worldwide and is a leading cause of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Approximately 20% [corrected] of those acutely infected clear the infection, whereas the remaining 80% [corrected] progress to chronic infection. Hepatitis C thus provides a model in which successful and unsuccessful responses can be compared to better understand the human response to viral infection. Our laboratory studies the strategies by which HCV evades the adaptive immune response. This review describes the impact of viral mutation on T cell recognition, the role of cell surface inhibitory receptors in recognition of HCV, and the development of antibodies that neutralize HCV infection. Understanding what constitutes an effective immune response in the control of HCV may enable the development of prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines for HCV and other chronic viral infections.