title: The role of natural killer cells in hepatitis C infection.
abstract: HCV infection is an exponentially growing health burden worldwide, with an estimated 170 million people infected. Although therapies for HCV are continually improving, there remain a considerable proportion of patients who do not achieve viral eradication and develop liver disease. Natural killer (NK) cells are crucial for T-cell activation and are one of the first-line sentinel cell responders to viral infection. A recent explosion in studies exploring the role of NK cells in HCV infection has yielded important mechanistic information and intriguing potential therapeutic options for HCV infection. This review provides a general overview of normal NK cell function and outlines some of the important mechanisms characterizing the immune interplay between NK cells and HCV infection.
authors.affiliation: Liver Transplant Unit, Austin Hospital, Melbourne, Australia. manukascarlet@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Howell
authors.forename: Kumar
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Visvanathan
mesh_terms: D056704:Adaptive Immunity; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000276:immunology*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic; D006801:Humans; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D008099:Liver / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000209:etiology; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000276:immunology; D055611:Natural Killer T-Cells / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D055607:Receptors, Natural Killer Cell / Q000378:metabolism; D051192:Receptors, Pattern Recognition / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D055607:Receptors, Natural Killer Cell; D051192:Receptors, Pattern Recognition