Cured HCV patients with suboptimal hepatitis B vaccine response exhibit high self-reactive immune signatures

Chronic HCV infection induces lasting effects on the immune system despite viral clearance. It is unclear whether certain immune alterations are associated with vaccine responses in cured HCV patients.

Thirteen cured HCV patients received the standard 3-dose hepatitis B vaccine and were followed up at the 0, 1st, 6th, and 7th months (M0, M1, M6, and M7) after the first dose of vaccination. Thirty-three-color and 26-color spectral flow cytometry panels were used for high-dimensional immunophenotyping of the T-cell and B-cell subsets, respectively.

Compared to the healthy controls (HC), 17 of 43 (39.5%) immune cell subsets showed abnormal frequencies in cured HCV patients. Patients with cured HCV were further divided into high responders (HR, n = 6) and nonresponders (NR1, n = 7) based on the levels of hepatitis B surface antibodies at M1. Alterations in cell populations were more significant in NR1. Moreover, we found that high levels of self-reactive immune signatures, including Tregs, TD/CD8, IgD-only memory B, and autoantibodies, were associated with suboptimal hepatitis B vaccine responses.

Our data suggest that cured HCV patients exhibit persistent perturbations in the adaptive immune system, among which highly self-reactive immune signatures may contribute to a suboptimal hepatitis B vaccine response.