ArticlePLoS pathogens2010
Blockade of immunosuppressive cytokines restores NK cell antiviral function in chronic hepatitis B virus infection.
Article in PLoS pathogens, 2010. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 130 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The trial behind it
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Who cites it
130 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 253 citations in OpenAlex.
- Altered Immune Profiles of Natural Killer Cells in Chronic Hepatitis B Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.PloS one · 2016Pooled it
- NKp30Scientific reports · 2016Trial
- Interferon Alpha Induces Sustained Changes in NK Cell Responsiveness to Hepatitis B Viral Load Suppression In Vivo.PLoS pathogens · 2016Trial
- Controlled infection with a therapeutic virus defines the activation kinetics of human natural killer cells in vivo.Clinical and experimental immunology · 2015Trial
- Antiviral treatment alters the frequency of activating and inhibitory receptor-expressing natural killer cells in chronic hepatitis B virus infected patients.Mediators of inflammation · 2012Trial
- Dissecting antibody-mediated natural killer cell effects reveals a cytotoxic CX3CR1+KLRC2-CD16hi subset linked to hepatitis B virus outcomes.Clinical and molecular hepatology · 2026Article
- Expanded adaptive NKG2C+ NK cells exhibit potent ADCC and functional responses against HBV-infected hepatoma cell lines.Cytotherapy · 2026Article
- A Quantitative Systems Pharmacology (QSP) Model of Acute Hepatitis B Virus Infection: Mechanistic Insights and Foundations for Future Extensions.CPT: pharmacometrics & systems pharmacology · 2026Article
- High IL-10 levels during CRS are negatively associated with NK-cell recovery after CAR-T cell therapy.Clinical & translational immunology · 2026Article
- Bidirectional regulatory mechanisms and therapeutic prospects of tumor hypercoagulable state and immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment.Oncology reviews · 2026Review
- Review
- LAG3 Marks Activated but Hyporesponsive NK Cells.European journal of immunology · 2025Article
- [Current status of research on the impairment of natural killer cell function caused by hepatitis B virus infection].Zhonghua gan zang bing za zhi = Zhonghua ganzangbing zazhi = Chinese journal of hepatology · 2025Review
- Anti-HBV treatment partially restores the dysfunction of innate immune cells and unconventional T cells during chronic HBV infection.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Review
- Investigation of the relationship between chronic hepatitis B and tuberculosis using bioinformatics and systems biology approaches.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Article
- Tissue-specific features of innate lymphoid cells in antiviral defense.Cellular & molecular immunology · 2024Review
- Article
- Safety, pharmacodynamics, and antiviral activity of selgantolimod in viremic patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection.JHEP reports : innovation in hepatology · 2024Article
- Pharmacogenomic and epigenomic approaches to untangle the enigma of IL-10 blockade in oncology.Expert reviews in molecular medicine · 2024Review
- The novel mechanism facilitating chronic hepatitis B infection: immunometabolism and epigenetic modification reprogramming.Frontiers in immunology · 2024Review
70 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
12 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
NK cells are enriched in the liver, constituting around a third of intrahepatic lymphocytes. We have previously demonstrated that they upregulate the death ligand TRAIL in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection (CHB), allowing them to kill hepatocytes bearing TRAIL receptors. In this study we investigated whether, in addition to their pathogenic role, NK cells have antiviral potential in CHB. We characterised NK cell subsets and effector function in 64 patients with CHB compared to 31 healthy controls. We found that, in contrast to their upregulated TRAIL expression and maintenance of cytolytic function, NK cells had a markedly impaired capacity to produce IFN-γ in CHB. This functional dichotomy of NK cells could be recapitulated in vitro by exposure to the immunosuppressive cytokine IL-10, which was induced in patients with active CHB. IL-10 selectively suppressed NK cell IFN-γ production without altering cytotoxicity or death ligand expression. Potent antiviral therapy reduced TRAIL-expressing CD56(bright) NK cells, consistent with the reduction in liver inflammation it induced; however, it was not able to normalise IL-10 levels or the capacity of NK cells to produce the antiviral cytokine IFN-γ. Blockade of IL-10 +/- TGF-β restored the capacity of NK cells from both the periphery and liver of patients with CHB to produce IFN-γ, thereby enhancing their non-cytolytic antiviral capacity. In conclusion, NK cells may be driven to a state of partial functional tolerance by the immunosuppressive cytokine environment in CHB. Their defective capacity to produce the antiviral cytokine IFN-γ persists in patients on antiviral therapy but can be corrected in vitro by IL-10+/- TGF-β blockade.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.