Investigation and Elucidation of Host Immune Responses in Patients With Hepatitic B and C Virus Infection

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and C (HCV) are the leading causes of liver disease worldwide. Approximately 400 million people worldwide are chronically infected with HBV world wide and it is estimated that 3% of the entire world population is infected with HCV and yet there is still no vaccine available.

Chronic viral hepatitis infection is primarily the result of a complex interaction between the virus and an impaired host immune response. The host immune response has a unique role in HBV and HCV infection because it contributes not only to viral control clinical recovery and protective immunity but also to the development of chronic hepatitis and liver cirrhosis. There is currently no cure for most patients who already have chronic HBV and HCV infection and a proportion of patients fail to respond to current antiviral regimens. Since these patient remain at risk for disease progression it is crucial to investigate host immune responses and to determine the precise role of these responses in disease outcome.

Using peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and serum collection from HBV and HCV infected patients in a number of different immunological assays, we hope to identify any changes in the number and function of these immune cells and to investigate how these changes contribute to viral persistence and disease progression. This information can be utilised to develop more effective treatment regimens in order to reduce the current global burden of these diseases.