Dominance of HLA-B restricted virus-specific CD8+ T cell epitopes in chronic HBV infection

Background and Aims: HBV-specific CD8+ T cells are essential for HBV clearance and are an attractive target for immunotherapeutic intervention. However, the HBV-specific CD8+ T-cell repertoire is poorly characterized. Indeed, < 10 HLA-B restricted HBV-specific CD8+ T cell epitopes are described to date, although recent findings in the field of HIV and HCV infection clearly demonstrate a dominant role of these epitopes. We therefore aimed to identify novel CD8+ T-cell epitopes in HBV-infection and also address the relative contribution of HLA-A versus HLA-B restricted epitopes. Methods: 30 patients with chronic H…