{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,14]],"date-time":"2026-09-14T20:18:13Z","timestamp":1789417093533,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":36,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,4,7]],"date-time":"2022-04-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1649289600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Microbiol."],"abstract":"<jats:p>There is little known of immunologic factors leading to the occurrence of occult HBV infection (OBI). Specific cellular immune response to hepatitis B virus (HBV) core\/pol peptides was compared between blood donor populations, including 37 OBIs, 53 chronic HBV infections (CHB), 47 resolved infections, and 56 non-infected controls, respectively. The rate of CD4<jats:sup>+<\/jats:sup>\/CD8<jats:sup>+<\/jats:sup> T cell proliferation in OBI or CHB carriers was higher than in HBV resolved and non-infected individuals (<jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic> &amp;lt; 0.05). The intensity of IFN-\u03b3-secretion T-cell response of OBI carriers was highest, followed by CHB and resolved infections, and non-infected individuals (<jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic> &amp;lt; 0.05). The frequency of intracellular IFN-\u03b3 and IL-17A CD4<jats:sup>+<\/jats:sup>\/CD8<jats:sup>+<\/jats:sup> and IL-21 CD4<jats:sup>+<\/jats:sup> T-cell responses was significantly higher in resolved infections than in OBI or CHB carriers (<jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic> &amp;lt; 0.05), while the level of extracellular IL-17A of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) was higher in OBI and CHB carriers than in resolved infections (<jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic> &amp;lt; 0.01). The frequency of intracellular IL-10 CD4<jats:sup>+<\/jats:sup> T-cell response in CHB, OBI, and resolved infections was higher than in HBV non-infected individuals (<jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic> &amp;lt; 0.01). Intracellular IL-10 CD8<jats:sup>+<\/jats:sup> T cell and extracellular IL-10 T-cell responses were higher in CHB than in OBI (<jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic> = 0.012) or HBV resolved infections (<jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic> &amp;lt; 0.01). In conclusion, the higher level of effective T-cell response with IFN-\u03b3, IL-17A, and IL-21 contributes to resolved infection outcome, while higher levels of suppressive T-cell response with IL-10 result in HBV chronicity. OBI is an intermediary status between HBV resolved and chronic infections, in which IL-21 effector and IL-10 suppressor T-cell responses play an important role in directing the outcome of HBV infection.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fmicb.2022.850665","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,4,7]],"date-time":"2022-04-07T08:00:42Z","timestamp":1649318442000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":12,"title":["Hepatitis B Virus-Specific Cellular Immunity Contributes to the Outcome of Occult Hepatitis B Virus Infection"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Weiyun","family":"Zhang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shengxue","family":"Luo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tingting","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Min","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jieting","family":"Huang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Qiao","family":"Liao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Bochao","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xia","family":"Rong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Linhai","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jean-Pierre","family":"Allain","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yongshui","family":"Fu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Chengyao","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,4,7]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"765","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jhep.2011.11.011","article-title":"T cell responses and viral variability in blood donation candidates with occult hepatitis B infection.","volume":"56","author":"Bes","year":"2012","journal-title":"J. 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