Functional status of hepatitis B virus-specific T cells in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection: Exhausted or silenced? / 临床肝胆病杂志

Hepatitis B virus (HBV)-specific T cells in patients with chronic HBV infection are currently acknowledged as exhausted T cells. This article summarizes previous studies which support this hypothesis and then points out several inconsistencies between this hypothesis and clinical observation. Based on recent research findings, it is pointed out that in patients with chronic HBV infection, HBV-specific T cells might be dominated by silenced, early-differentiated progenitor T cells. Also, this article analyzes the possible causes of the silenced status of those T cells.