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Updated: Aug 17, 2026

Stem Cell-Derived Viral Ag-Specific T Lymphocytes Suppress HBV Replication in Mice
Published on: September 25, 2019
Exposure to hepatitis C virus induces cellular immune responses without detectable viremia or seroconversion
Maged Al-Sherbiny1, Ahmed Osman, Nahla Mohamed
1Egyptian Reference Diagnostic Center, VACSERA, Cairo, Egypt.
Abstract:
Sporadic cases of cell-mediated immunity (CMI) in persons exposed to hepatitis C (HCV) but evidently uninfected have been reported. To further define this, we measured CMI in individuals without evidence of HCV infection, that is, negative for HCV-antibodies (anti-HCV) and RNA, residing in a rural Egyptian community where prevalence of anti-HCV was 24%. Cell-mediated immunity (CMI) measured by interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) assay, confirmed by intracellular staining using flow cytometry, against HCV peptides was measured in seronegative individuals with high-risk (HR) and low-risk (LR) exposures to HCV. Thirteen of 71 (18.3%) HR subjects but only 1 of 35 (2.9%) LR subjects had detectable CMI (P = 0.032). These data are compatible with the hypothesis that exposures to HCV may lead to development of HCV-specific CMI without anti-HCV and ongoing viral replication. We speculate induced CMI clears HCV sometimes when anti-HCV is not detectable, and HCV-specific CMI is a useful surrogate marker for exposure to HCV.
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