{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,16]],"date-time":"2026-10-16T15:58:14Z","timestamp":1792166294024,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":41,"publisher":"Oxford University Press (OUP)","issue":"11","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,4,19]],"date-time":"2021-04-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1618790400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/journals\/pages\/open_access\/funder_policies\/chorus\/standard_publication_model"}],"funder":[{"name":"Chinese National Thirteenth Five Years Project in Science and Technology for Infections Disease","award":["2017ZX10202201"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2017ZX10202201"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title><jats:p>The immunomodulatory role of natural killer (NK) cells has been recognized recently, but its effects on CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) during chronic hepatitis B (CHB) infection and treatment remain unclear. A total of 116 nucleos(t)ide analogue (NA)-treated CHB patients were included. An inverse correlation between the peripheral frequencies of NK cells and Tregs was found in NA suppressed patients following pegylated interferon-\u0251 (PegIFN-\u0251)\u2013based treatment. Furthermore, NK cells suppressed the proliferation and differentiation of Tregs through secreting IFN-\u03b3 as was evidenced in the circulation of NA-treated CHB patients as well as in liver of HBV-carrier mouse model. Additionally, the inhibition could be enhanced by PegIFN-\u0251 treatment, which was correlated to more vigorous HBV-specific T-cell responses and marked reduction in HBsAg. Our study reveals a novel immunomodulatory mechanism of NK cells and provides a theoretical basis for PegIFN-\u0251 as an immunotherapy agent in treating patients with CHB.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1093\/infdis\/jiab216","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,4,16]],"date-time":"2021-04-16T23:09:06Z","timestamp":1618614546000},"page":"1878-1889","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":15,"title":["Pegylated Interferon-\u0251 (IFN-\u0251) Enhances the Inhibitory Effect of Natural Killer Cells on Regulatory T Cells via IFN-\u03b3 in Chronic Hepatitis B"],"prefix":"10.1093","volume":"224","author":[{"given":"Wei","family":"Yuan","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department and Institute of Infectious Disease, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Da","family":"Huang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department and Institute of Infectious Disease, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Di","family":"Wu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department and Institute of Infectious Disease, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yuying","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department and Institute of Infectious Disease, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ke","family":"Ma","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department and Institute of Infectious Disease, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Meifang","family":"Han","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department and Institute of Infectious Disease, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xiaoping","family":"Luo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Weiming","family":"Yan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department and Institute of Infectious Disease, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Qin","family":"Ning","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department and 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