Dendritic cells in hepatitis C virus infection

ABSTRACT

Background: The global prevalence of chronic hepatitis C is estimated at 2.8%. There is markedly higher prevalence in the Middle East about 14.7% in Egypt. Dendritic cells [DCs] are one of the major Antigen presenting cells in the body. They bridge innate and adaptive immunity and impact priming of HCV-specific immune responses. The current study was aimed to investigate the DC activation status, and their role in interaction with natural killer [NK] cells utilizing different setups with healthy NK and HCV+ DC, HCV+ NK and healthy DC, healthy DC and healthy NK and finally HCV+ NK and HCV+ DC in the presence of HCV peptides and a ratio of 5 NK 1DC