Identification of the association between HBcAg-specific T cell and viral control in chronic HBV infection using a cultured ELISPOT assay.
J Leukoc Biol
; 109(2): 455-465, 2021 02.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-32620046
ABSTRACT
Hepatitis B virus (HBV)-specific T cells play a critical role in determining the outcome of HBV infection. However, T cell response induced by predominant Ag in chronic infection is hardly detectable owing to the lack of a suitable assay. We herein established an optimized method to enumerate HBV-specific T cells and assessed the association between HBV surface Ag (HBsAg) and HBV DNA. Sixty chronic HBV infection patients were enrolled. HBV-specific T cells were expanded by using overlapping peptide pools covering the entire sequence of HBV genotypes B and C. IFN-γ-producing HBV-specific T cells were detected by a cultured enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) assay, ex vivo ELISPOT assay, or flow cytometry staining. The association between HBV-specific T cells and serum levels of HBsAg and HBV DNA were analyzed. Cultured ELISPOT assay had a higher sensitivity than ex vivo ELISPOT in the detection of HBV-specific T cells. Moreover, consistent results were acquired by flow cytometry analysis and cultured ELISPOT assay, but the latter required only a limited number of cells for detection. Interestingly, HBV core peptide pool induced a robust HBV-specific T cell response in patients with lower levels of HBV DNA and HBsAg. Specifically, the frequency of HBV core Ag-specific IFN-γ+ spot-forming cells was inversely correlated with serum levels of HBV DNA and HBsAg. An optimized cultured ELISPOT assay reveals the association between HBV core Ag-induced T cell response and HBV control; this method may favor the investigation of HBV-specific T cell in chronic HBV infection.
Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Linfócitos T
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Vírus da Hepatite B
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Hepatite B Crônica
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ELISPOT
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Antígenos do Núcleo do Vírus da Hepatite B
Tipo de estudo:
Diagnostic_studies
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Prognostic_studies
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Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Adult
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Female
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Humans
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Male
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Middle aged
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2021
Tipo de documento:
Article