南加州大学的研究人员可能发现了治疗慢性乙型肝炎的方法 治愈乙肝必需一个月
USC researchers discover potential cure for chronic hepatitis B
The infection has been cured in mice by removing ‘traitors’ residing in liver’s immune cells
通过去除存在于肝脏免疫细胞中的“叛徒”，小鼠已经治愈了感染
作者：Zen Vuong 2016年5月3日
从母亲那里获得乙型肝炎病毒的儿童无法从他们的系统中消除它。
（照片/ Pixabay）
根据USC的一项新研究，慢性乙型肝炎感染是一种无法有效治愈的终生疾病，有朝一日可以通过一系列注射从一个人的系统中清除。
感染HBV的大多数健康成人会产生保护性免疫力，在几个月内治愈自己的身体。
但从母亲那里获得病毒的儿童无法从他们的系统中清除HBV。相反，这些人在他们的余生中命中注定与病毒共存。 2013年，美国大约有110万人患有慢性HBV感染，疾病控制和预防中心（CDC)报告。
南加州大学致力于攻击今天的“邪恶问题”，其中包括传染病。美国南加州大学凯克医学院分子微生物学和免疫学教授Jing-hsiung James Ou表示，“肝巨噬细胞” - 消除外来物质和毒素如垃圾处理系统的肝脏免疫细胞 - 可能成为未来治疗的目标。 “母体病毒抗原教导后代的肝脏巨噬细胞抑制称为CTL的步兵白细胞，”5月3日发表在Immunity杂志上的一篇文章期刊的高级作者欧说。 “因此，当婴儿暴露于病毒时，婴儿的'垃圾处理单元'将抑制其自身免疫系统抵御感染。我们能够消耗小鼠模型中的巨噬细胞，激活CTL并清除病毒。“
走向治愈的道路？
Ou说，该研究为治疗慢性HBV感染铺平了道路。他补充说，他的研究揭示了HBV e抗原的功能，这在以前是一个谜。在小鼠模型中，实验组来自HBV母亲，而对照组来自没有HBV的母亲。科学家将HBV诱导的DNA引入后代小鼠肝脏以产生HBV。在整个28周的实验中进行的测量发现，测试组的肝巨噬细胞逆转了他们的步兵CTL。换句话说，HBV阳性小鼠后代的白细胞由于行列内的叛徒而被削弱。为了去除阻止免疫系统消除HBV感染的巨噬细胞，Ou和他的同事给试验组注射了一种可以杀死这些叛徒的药物。研究人员在给予HBV DNA前两天和给予HBA DNA后每五天进行一次注射，总共注射了四次药物。
'将来，慢性HBV感染的临床治疗可能仅持续一个月而不是一生"。~詹姆斯欧
该药物去除了巨噬细胞并恢复了正常的CTL白细胞活性，导致大约四周后HBV清除。 Ou说，他将进一步开展动物研究，这对于确保药物在临床试验开始前的安全性至关重要。 “这项研究打开了大门，”他说。 “将来，慢性HBV感染的临床治疗可能只持续一个月而不是一生。”
该研究得到了美国国立卫生研究院拨款（DK100257和CA177337）以及L.K.的研究资助。惠蒂尔基金会。
USC researchers discover potential cure for chronic hepatitis B
The infection has been cured in mice by removing ‘traitors’ residing in liver’s immune cells
BY Zen Vuong May 3, 2016
Children who acquire the hepatitis B virus from their mothers are unable to eliminate it from their system. (Photo/Pixabay)
Chronic hepatitis B infection, a lifetime disease with no effective cure, could one day be cleared from a person’s system with a series of shots, according to a new USC study.
Most healthy adults infected with HBV will develop protective immunity, healing their own bodies within a few months. But children who acquired the virus from their mothers are unable to scrub HBV from their systems. Instead these individuals are fated to live with the virus for the rest of their lives.
About 1.1 million people in the United States have chronic HBV infection, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in 2013. USC is devoted to attacking today’s “wicked problems,” which include infectious diseases.
“Hepatic macrophages” — liver immune cells that eliminate foreign substances and toxins like a garbage disposal system — could be the target of future treatment, said Jing-hsiung James Ou, a professor of molecular microbiology and immunology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.
“Maternal viral antigens teach the offspring’s hepatic macrophages to suppress foot soldier white blood cells called CTLs,” said Ou, senior author of the article published May 3 in Immunity, a Cell journal. “Therefore, when babies are exposed to the virus, the baby’s ‘garbage disposal units’ will suppress its own immune system from fighting off the infection. We were able to deplete macrophages in a mouse model, activate CTLs and clear the virus.”
A path toward a cure?
The study paves a path to curing chronic HBV infection, Ou said. His research unveils the function of HBV e antigen, which was previously a mystery, Ou added.
In a mouse model, the experimental group came from mothers with HBV, whereas the control group came from mothers without HBV. Scientists introduced HBV-inducing DNA into offspring mouse liver to produce HBV.
Measurements taken throughout the 28-week experiment found that the test group’s hepatic macrophages turned against their foot soldier CTLs. In other words, white blood cells in the offspring of HBV-positive mice were weakened because of renegades within the ranks.
To remove macrophages that prevented the immune system from eliminating HBV infection, Ou and his colleagues injected the test group with a drug that slays these traitors. Researchers performed the procedure two days before and once every five days after HBV DNA was administered. In total, researchers dispensed the drugs four times.
In the future, clinical treatment for chronic HBV infection may last merely one month rather than a lifetime.
James Ou
The drug removed macrophages and restored normal CTL white blood cell activity, leading to HBV clearance after about four weeks. Ou said he will further his research in animal studies, which is essential to ensure the safety of the drug before the initiation of clinical trials.
“This study opens doors,” he said. “In the future, clinical treatment for chronic HBV infection may last merely one month rather than a lifetime.”
The study was supported by National Institutes of Health grants (DK100257 and CA177337) and a research grant from the L.K. Whittier Foundation.