Francesco Andreata, Kelly D Moynihan, Valeria Fumagalli, Pietro Di Lucia, Danielle C Pappas, Keigo Kawashima, Irene Ni, Paul H Bessette, Chiara Perucchini, Elisa Bono, Leonardo Giustini, Henry C Nguyen, S Michael Chin, Yik Andy Yeung, Craig S Gibbs, Ivana Djuretic, Matteo Iannacone
CD8+ T cells are key antiviral effectors against hepatitis B virus (HBV), yet their number and function can be compromised in chronic infections. Preclinical HBV models displaying CD8+ T cell dysfunction showed that interleukin-2 (IL-2)-based treatment, unlike programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) checkpoint blockade, could reverse this defect, suggesting its therapeutic potential against HBV. However, IL-2's effectiveness is hindered by its pleiotropic nature, because its receptor is found on various immune cells, including regulatory T (Treg ) cells and natural killer (NK) cells, which can counteract antiviral responses or contribute to toxicity, respectively...
January 10, 2024: Science Translational Medicine