title: Adoptive T-cell therapy as a therapeutic option for chronic hepatitis B.
abstract: The human hepatitis B virus is a small, enveloped and non-cytopathic virus, with a very narrow host range and a strong liver tropism causing acute and chronic liver disease. Although a well-tolerated vaccine is available, more than 350 million people are chronically infected worldwide. Available therapies for chronic hepatitis B only rarely eliminate the virus. Although new antivirals are being developed, long-term treatment is required, which may be limited by the selection of resistant viruses. Therefore, immunotherapies are investigated as an approach to eliminate persistently infected cells. Besides therapeutic vaccination, adoptive T-cell therapy is an interesting option, which is discussed in this review.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Molecular Medicine, Institute for Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bohne
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Protzer
mesh_terms: D019694:Hepatitis B, Chronic / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy* / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D016219:Immunotherapy, Adoptive / Q000379:methods*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*