Abstract
In the mid-90s, hepatitis B virus (HBV)-directed immune responses were for the first time investigated in detail and revealed suboptimal T-cell responses in chronic HBV patients. Based on these studies, therapeutic vaccination exploiting the antigen presentation capacity of dendritic cells to prime and/or boost HBV-specific T-cell responses was considered highly promising. Now, 25 years later, it has not yet delivered this promise. In this review, we summarise what has been clinically tested in terms of antigen targets and vaccine forms, how the immunological and therapeutic effects of these vaccines were assessed and what major clinical and immunological findings were reported. We combine the lessons learned from these trials with the most recent insights on HBV antigen presentation, T-cell responses, vaccine composition, antiviral and immune-modulatory drugs and disease biomarkers to derive novel opportunities for the next generation of therapeutic vaccines designed to cure chronic HBV either alone or in combination therapy.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | e1232 |
| Journal | Clinical & Translational Immunology |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 15 Jan 2021 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The authors thank Professor CJM Melief for critical reading of the manuscript. DTSLJ, AMW and SIB were supported by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy by means of the public private partnership (PPP) allowance made available by the Top Sector Life Sciences & Health to stimulate public–private partnerships in conjunction with the Dutch Digestive Foundation (LSHM16056). In the latter, ISA Pharmaceuticals B.V. Leiden, the Netherlands, is the collaborating and co-funding private partner.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Authors. Clinical & Translational Immunology published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Australian and New Zealand Society for Immunology, Inc.
