Hepatitis B: natural controllers shed light on immunity mechanisms

Infections in humans caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV) represent a major public health problem. Despite the availability of effective protective vaccines, more than 250 million individuals worldwide are chronically infected according to WHO estimates. HBV infection is associated with cirrhosis, liver failure and hepatocellular carcinoma, responsible for approximately a million deaths every year. To date there is no specific treatment to completely eliminate the virus and provide a cure for chronic HBV infection. Strikingly, however, about 1% of individuals with chronic HBV infection, known as natural controllers, are capable of recovering spontaneously. To improve our understanding of the antibody response conferring protection against HBV infection, scientists from the Institut Pasteur and Inserm, in collaboration with the Roche Innovation Center in Switzerland, produced and characterized human monoclonal antibodies specific to viral envelope antigens, referred as HBsAg, from blood memory B cells isolated from HBV vaccinees and natural controllers.

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