Stem Cell-Derived Viral Ag-Specific T Lymphocytes Suppress HBV Replication in Mice

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a global health issue. With over 350 million people affected worldwide, HBV infection remains the leading cause of liver cancer. This is a major concern, especially in developing countries. Failure of the immune system to mount an effective response against HBV leads to chronic infection. Although HBV vaccine is present and novel antiviral medicines are being created, eradication of virus-reservoir cells remains a major health topic. Described here is a method for the generation of viral antigen (Ag) -specific CD8⁺ cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) (i.e., iPSC-CTLs), which have the ability to suppress HBV replication. HBV replication is efficiently induced in mice through hydrodynamic injection of an HBV expression plasmid, pAAV/HBV1.2, into the liver. Then, HBV surface Ag-specific mouse iPSC-CTLs are adoptively transferred, which greatly suppresses HBV replication in the liver and blood as well as prevents HBV surface Ag expression in hepatocytes. This method demonstrates HBV replication in mice after hydrodynamic injection and that stem cell-derived viral Ag-specific CTLs can suppress HBV replication. This protocol provides a useful method for HBV immunotherapy.