ABSTRACT
Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) is often treated with drugs such as interferons and nucleoside (acid)/nucleotide (acid) analogs. While these drugs are effective in controlling the viral loads, they are not able to eliminate hepatitis B virus (HBV) from the body completely. Besides, side effects and drug resistance may by caused by the long-term use of these drugs. Several monoclonal antibodies (McAbs) against HBV, mostly against hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), have been demonstrated with viral neutralization capability and with effective inhibition of HBV replication in relevant animal models. The use of a McAb individually or in combination with another therapy has the potentials to achieve functional cure of CHB. In this review, we summarized the encouraging results from the research and development of anti-HBV McAbs in clinical or pre-clinical development stage, aiming to provide new idea for the treatment of CHB.
ABSTRACT
Objective To evaluate the immunostimulatory effects of polysaccharides, including Lycium barbarum polysaccharides ( LBP) , Angelica polysaccharides ( AP) , Licorice polysaccharides ( LP) and Inulin polysaccharides ( IP) , used alone or in combination with aluminum adjuvant on the recombinant protein of varicella-zoster virus (VZV) glycoprotein (gE) as an immunogen in mice. Methods BALB/c mice were randomly divided into 11 groups with five in each group. Intramuscular injection was given at Days 0 and 14. Serum samples were collected at weeks 0, 2, 3, 4 and detected for total anti-gE IgG titers and an-tibody subtypes by indirect ELISA. The mice were sacrificed at week 4 to collect spleen lymphocytes aseptic-ally. CCK-8 method was used to evaluate the proliferation of spleen lymphocytes. The levels of IFN-γ and IL-4 were measured by ELISA. The percentages of CD3+CD4+ and CD3+CD8+ T cell subsets were deter-mined by flow cytometry. Results The four plant-derived polysaccharides in combination with aluminum adjuvant showed good adjuvant activities. LP combined with aluminum adjuvant effectively increased the titer of IgG2, promote the proliferation of splenocytes and enhanced the secretion of IFN-γ and IL-4. Further-more, it also induced CD3+CD4+ and CD3+CD8+ T cell proliferation in vivo. Conclusions The four plant-derived polysaccharides in combination with aluminum adjuvant could all enhance antibody production. LP combined with aluminum adjuvant could induce cell-mediated immune responses, suggesting that it might be a promising adjuvant for varicella-zoster subunit vaccines.