Clinical immune characterization of hepatitis B virus infection and implications for immune intervention: Progress and challenges

The host immune response plays an important role in mediating hepatitis B virus (HBV) control and induction of liver damage, which determines the outcome of infection. However, interactions between HBV, the immune system, and the liver microenvironment, remain poorly understood. This review briefly outlines what we know about innate and adaptive immune responses to HBV, as well as the liver immunology in infected patients. It addresses how our knowledge of the anti-HBV immune response might aid the development of adoptive immune therapeutic strategies against HBV. This review also highlights the challenges we are facing in understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms bywhich the innate, adaptive and liver immune responses exert a synergistic antiviral function and influence disease progression. It concludes by addressing future directions and unanswered questions regarding the use of clinical immunotherapy. We hope this review will help hepatologists and gastroenterologists to understand the anti-HBV immune response, as well as current challenges and potential immunotherapeutic strategies against this disease.