title: Humoral immune response against hepatitis C virus.
abstract: Antibodies are in several instances a reliable marker indicating vigorous immune response against infectious agents and in several viral diseases presence in the blood of specific anti-viral antibodies indicates an effective protection. However, this is not always true. For example, in the case of hepatitis C virus (HCV) an important human pathogen considered the causative agent of the nonA- nonB hepatitis, in spite of an intense antibody response there is no protection against a new infection and in the majority of infected individuals the virus overcomes host defences establishing a persistent infection. Here we describe how the dissection of the humoral immune response against HCV glycoprotein E2 of infected patients was useful for a better comprehension of the virus-host interplay. Cross-reactive antibodies directed against E2 are produced by the HCV-infected patient, but not all of them are protective, and some could even result to be detrimental for the patient. The cross-reactive anti-HCV/E2 humoral antibody response is complex and not necessarily completely beneficial to the host.
mesh_terms: D000917:Antibody Formation / Q000276:immunology*; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000276:immunology*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins