Decades after spontaneous HBsAg clearance the CD8+ T cell immune response is less vigorous compared to chronic hepatitis B viral infection

Introduction: Antiviral CD8 T cells are a key component of the adaptive immune response and crucial for the control of hepatitis B viral (HBV) replication. Previous studies analyzing HLA-A*02 restricted CD8-epitopes have shown that patients with spontaneous HBsAg clearance after acute HBV infection have a strong CD8+ T cell immune response, directed against the HBV core protein. Epitopes presented through HLA-B or other HLA-A alleles are not well studied so far. Our objective was to study the CD8+ T cell immune response to HBV core of patients chronically infected as well as decades after spontaneous HBsAg clear…