title: Non-antigen-specific and antigen-specific immune therapies for chronic hepatitis B: evidences from laboratory benches and patient's bedsides.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Due to unsatisfactory therapeutic efficacy and considerable side effects of antiviral drugs in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB), immunotherapy has emerged as an alternative approach. CHB immunotherapy may be categorized into two main types: i) non-antigen-specific immune therapy and ii) hepatitis B virus (HBV) antigen-specific immune therapy. Although different immune modulators have been used in CHB patients for the last two to three decades, the nature and design of ongoing regimens of immunotherapeutic approaches need considerable modifications.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this review, the authors have outlined the relevant immunotherapies for CHB patients that have been used for the last two to three decades. The mechanisms underlying the limited therapeutic efficacy of available therapeutic agents for CHB patients have been discussed to aid in the development of an effective therapeutic approach for these patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Circumstantial evidence indicates that a better regimen of immunotherapy may be developed using different HBV-related antigens or combinations of two or more HBV-related antigens, or combinations of HBV-related antigens and antiviral drugs. However, the capacity of 'inducible immunity' by immune modulators to cure or block progression of liver diseases in CHB patients needs to be addressed.
authors.affiliation: Toshiba General Hospital, Department of Medical Sciences, Higashi Oi 6-3-22, Shinagawa, Tokyo 140-8522, Japan. sheikh.akbar@po.toshiba.co.jp
authors.forename: Sheikh Mohammad Fazle
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Akbar
authors.forename: Mamun
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Al-Mahtab
authors.forename: Md Sakirul Islam
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Khan
mesh_terms: D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000276:immunology*; D017325:Hepatitis B Vaccines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000276:immunology*; D019694:Hepatitis B, Chronic / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007167:Immunotherapy; D057170:Translational Research, Biomedical / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens; D017325:Hepatitis B Vaccines