Improving Therapeutic Vaccination against Hepatitis B—Insights from Preclinical Models of Immune Therapy against Persistent Hepatitis B Virus Infection

Autor: Percy A. Knolle, Li-Rung Huang, Anna Kosinska, Dirk Wohlleber, Ulrike Protzer
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
Zdroj: Vaccines, Vol 9, Iss 11, p 1333 (2021)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2076-393X
DOI: 10.3390/vaccines9111333
Popis: Chronic hepatitis B affects more than 250 million individuals worldwide, putting them at risk of developing liver cirrhosis and liver cancer. While antiviral immune responses are key to eliminating hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections, insufficient antiviral immunity characterized by failure to eliminate HBV-infected hepatocytes is associated with chronic hepatitis B. Prophylactic vaccination against hepatitis B successfully established protective immunity against infection with the hepatitis B virus and has been instrumental in controlling hepatitis B. However, prophylactic vaccination schemes have not been successful in mounting protective immunity to eliminate HBV infections in patients with chronic hepatitis B. Here, we discuss the current knowledge on the development and efficacy of therapeutic vaccination strategies against chronic hepatitis B with particular emphasis on the pathogenetic understanding of dysfunctional anti-viral immunity. We explore the development of additional immune stimulation measures within tissues, in particular activation of immunogenic myeloid cell populations, and their use for combination with therapeutic vaccination strategies to improve the efficacy of therapeutic vaccination against chronic hepatitis B.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals