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Dear Colleagues,

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is the major cause of chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. There are more than two-hundred million people worldwide chronically infected with HBV. Both host and viral factors are involved in the pathogenesis of HBV infection. Host immune responses to HBV, including innate and adaptive immunity are responsible for HBV control and clearance. Functional cure of HBV, indicating loss of HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) is a treatment goal for chronic HBV infection, that requiring effective host immunity against HBV. However, even after controlling HBV, HBV reactivation would occur during chemotherapy or immunosuppressive treatment in cases whose HBV infection had resolved. In this special issue of IJMS, original articles or systemic reviews related to host-viral (HBV) interaction are highly welcome, such as strategies to break the immune tolerance in chronic hepatitis B; synergy of innate and adaptive immunity for chronic hepatitis B infection, novel immunotherapeutic methods to achieve functional cure of HBV; update of HBV reactivation risk and mechanism associated with immunosuppressant, or biologics treatment in HBsAg positive or negative patients.

Prof. Dr. Yi-Hsiang Huang
Guest Editor

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Keywords

HBV reactivation
biologics
immunosuppressive treatment
innate immunity
adaptive immunity HBsAg reverse seroconversion

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 1131 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Efficacy and Renal Safety of Prophylactic Tenofovir Alafenamide for HBV-Infected Cancer Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy

by I-Cheng Lee, Keng-Hsin Lan, Chien-Wei Su, Chung-Pin Li, Yee Chao, Han-Chieh Lin, Ming-Chih Hou and Yi-Hsiang Huang

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(19), 11335; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijms231911335 - 26 Sep 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2086

Abstract

There are no data comparing the efficacy and safety of prophylactic entecavir (ETV), tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) and tenofovir alafenamide (TAF) for HBV-infected cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. This study aimed to compare the efficacy and renal safety of ETV, TDF and TAF in this setting. HBsAg-positive cancer patients treated with ETV (n = 582), TDF (n = 200) and TAF (n = 188) during chemotherapy were retrospectively enrolled. Antiviral efficacy and risk of renal events were evaluated. The rate of complete viral suppression at 1 year was 94.7%, 94.7% and 96.1% in ETV, TDF and TAF groups, respectively (p = 0.877). A significant proportion of patients developed renal dysfunction during chemotherapy. The incidences of acute kidney injury (AKI) and chronic kidney disease stage migration were comparable among the ETV, TDF and TAF groups. TAF was relatively safe in patients with predisposing factors of AKI, including hypoalbuminemia and cisplatin use. In patients who were switched from TDF to TAF during chemotherapy, the renal function remained stable and viral suppression was well maintained after switching. In conclusion, TAF had good renal safety and comparable efficacy with ETV and TDF for HBV-infected cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. Switching from TDF to TAF during chemotherapy is safe, without a loss of efficacy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Interaction between Host Immunity and Hepatitis B Virus Infection 2022)

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Review

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30 pages, 2480 KiB

Open AccessReview

Hepatitis B and Hepatitis D Viruses: A Comprehensive Update with an Immunological Focus

by Daniel G. Sausen, Oren Shechter, William Bietsch, Zhenzhen Shi, Samantha M. Miller, Elisa S. Gallo, Harel Dahari and Ronen Borenstein

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(24), 15973; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijms232415973 - 15 Dec 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3814

Abstract

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis delta virus (HDV) are highly prevalent viruses estimated to infect approximately 300 million people and 12–72 million people worldwide, respectively. HDV requires the HBV envelope to establish a successful infection. Concurrent infection with HBV and HDV can result in more severe disease outcomes than infection with HBV alone. These viruses can cause significant hepatic disease, including cirrhosis, fulminant hepatitis, and hepatocellular carcinoma, and represent a significant cause of global mortality. Therefore, a thorough understanding of these viruses and the immune response they generate is essential to enhance disease management. This review includes an overview of the HBV and HDV viruses, including life cycle, structure, natural course of infection, and histopathology. A discussion of the interplay between HDV RNA and HBV DNA during chronic infection is also included. It then discusses characteristics of the immune response with a focus on reactions to the antigenic hepatitis B surface antigen, including small, middle, and large surface antigens. This paper also reviews characteristics of the immune response to the hepatitis D antigen (including small and large antigens), the only protein expressed by hepatitis D. Lastly, we conclude with a discussion of recent therapeutic advances pertaining to these viruses. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Interaction between Host Immunity and Hepatitis B Virus Infection 2022)

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