Hepatitis C virus (HCV) eradication with interferon-free direct-acting antiviral-based therapy results in KLRG1+ HCV-specific memory natural killer cells

Ratna S. Wijaya, Scott A. Read, Sakthi P. Selvamani, Stephen Schibeci, Mahmoud K. Azardaryany, Adrian Ong, David van der Poorten, Rita Lin, Mark W. Douglas, Jacob George, Golo Ahlenstiel

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

13 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Direct acting antiviral therapies rapidly clear chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and restore natural killer (NK) cell function. We investigated NK cell memory formation following HCV clearance by examining NK cell phenotype and responses from control and chronic HCV patients before and after therapy following sustained virologic response at 12 weeks post-therapy (SVR12). NK cell phenotype at SVR12 differed significantly from paired pre-treatment samples, with an increase in maturation markers CD16, CD57 and KLRG1. HCV patients possessed stronger cytotoxic responses against HCV infected cells as compared to healthy controls; a response that further increased following SVR12. The antigen-specific response was mediated by KLRG1+ NK cells, as demonstrated by increased degranulation and proliferation in response to HCV antigen only. Our data suggest that KLRG1+ HCVspecific memory NK cells develop following viral infection, providing insight into their role in HCV clearance and relevance with regard to vaccine design.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1183-1195
Number of pages13
JournalJournal of Infectious Diseases
Volume223
Issue number7
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2021

Keywords

  • hepatitis C virus
  • killer cells
  • natural immunity

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