Suspected and unsuspected factors in the multifaceted immunopathology of viral hepatitis

摘要

In the past decade, our knowledge of the mechanisms producing disease during acute and chronic infections with hepatitis B (HBV) and C (HCV) viruses has solidified the fact that the immune response induced by these viruses plays dominant roles. It is becoming increasingly clear that HBV and HCV can subvert the host immune system to survive, and the viral persistence can also induce autoimmune manifestations that complicate the clinical setting and may contraindicate therapies that indiscriminately augment immune effector mechanisms .