Persistent human hepatitis B virus infection in cynomolgus monkeys: A novel animal model in the search for a cure?

摘要

Worldwide, human hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection causes liver-related death in more than 600 thousand people annually (www. who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs204/en/). Approximately 400 million people are persistently infected with HBV with dramatically increased risk of developing liver cirrhosis, end-stage liver disease, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Thus, over half of the 700 thousand annual liver cancer cases are caused by HBV. However, current therapy of chronic HBV is suboptimal and expensive and, in most treated patients, does not lead to a cure.1 Treatment options include nucleos(t)ide analogs teno-fovir and entecavir, which are highly effective in lowering viremia level, but only rarely lead to sustained clearance or long-term suppression of viral load. Another option is treatment with pegylated interferon-alpha (PEG-IFN-alpja), which, in a small number of cases, has been associated with late viral clearance, thus suggesting that induction of relevant immune responses might lead to a cure for persistent HBV. Taken together, there is a great need for studies of alternative and less-expensive treatment options, and it would be highly relevant to have a readily available immunocompetent animal model for human HBV.