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Magnitude of CD8 + T‐cell responses against hepatitis C virus and severity of hepatitis do not necessarily determine outcomes in acute hepatitis C virus infection
Author(s) -
Doi Hiroyoshi,
Hiroishi Kazumasa,
Shimazaki Tomoe,
Eguchi Junichi,
Baba Toshiyuki,
Ito Takayoshi,
Matsumura Takuya,
Nozawa Hisako,
Morikawa Kenichi,
Ishii Shigeaki,
Hiraide Ayako,
Sakaki Masashi,
Imawari Michio
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
hepatology research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.123
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 1872-034X
pISSN - 1386-6346
DOI - 10.1111/j.1872-034x.2008.00459.x
Subject(s) - hepatitis c virus , cd8 , virology , medicine , immunology , hepatitis c , cytotoxic t cell , t cell , antibody , virus , immune system , biology , biochemistry , in vitro
Aim: We investigated the relationship between the magnitude of comprehensive hepatitis C virus (HCV)‐specific CD8 + T‐cell responses and the clinical course of acute HCV infection. Methods: Six consecutive patients with acute HCV infection were studied. Analysis of HCV‐specific CD8 + T‐cell responses was performed using an interferon‐γ‐based enzyme‐linked immunospot assay using peripheral CD8 + T‐cells, monocytes and 297 20‐mer synthetic peptides overlapping by 10 residues and spanning the entire HCV sequence of genotype 1b. Results: Five patients presented detectable HCV‐specific CD8 + T‐cell responses against a single and different peptide, whereas 1 patient showed responses against three different peptides. Neither the magnitude of HCV‐specific CD8 + T‐cell responses nor the severity of hepatitis predicts the outcome of acute hepatitis. The maximum number of HCV‐specific CD8 + T‐cells correlated with maximum serum alanine aminotransferase level during the course ( r = 0.841, P = 0.036). Conclusions: HCV‐specific CD8 + T‐cell responses were detectable in all 6 patients with acute HCV infection, and 6 novel HCV‐specific CTL epitopes were identified. Acute HCV infection can resolve with detectable HCV‐specific CD8 + T‐cell responses, but without development of antibody against HCV.