Abstract
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) are prominent examples of RNA and DNA viruses, respectively, that establish a persistent infection in their host. HCV affects over 185 million patients worldwide, who are at high risk for developing liver fibrosis, liver cirrhosis, and ultimately hepatocellular carcinoma. Recent breakthroughs in HCV therapy, using direct-acting antivirals have provided the opportunity to monitor natural killer (NK) cells after clearance of a chronic infection. There is now increasing evidence that the individual NK cell repertoire before infection is predictive for the course of disease. HCMV affects the majority of the global population. While being asymptomatic in healthy individuals, HCMV represents a severe clinical challenge in immunocompromised patients. Both viral infections, HCV and HCMV, lead to long-lasting and profound alterations within the entire NK cell compartment. This review article, will discuss the diverse range of changes in the NK cell compartment as well as potential consequences for the course of disease.
Highlights
A wide range of viral infections challenge the immune system throughout the lifetime of its host exerting a substantial and often long-lasting impact on multiple immune parameters
The importance of natural killer (NK) cells in human Herpes virus infections was initially highlighted in a patient with a very rare NK cell deficiency and his enhanced susceptibility to recurrent infections [18], a clinical phenotype corroborated in later reports [19, 20]
We will discuss some of the NK cell subsets that have been studied in hepatitis C Virus (HCV) and human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infections (Figure 1)
Summary
A wide range of viral infections challenge the immune system throughout the lifetime of its host exerting a substantial and often long-lasting impact on multiple immune parameters. Prominent examples of viruses establishing latent infection are the herpes viruses [human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), herpes simplex virus (HSV), Epstein–Barr virus (EBV), varicella-zoster-virus (VZV)]. Other viruses, such as the majority of hepatitis viruses [hepatitis C Virus (HCV), hepatitis B Virus (HBV), hepatitis D Virus (HDV)] and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), establish chronic infections in which constant replication takes place. This drives chronic inflammation, often resulting in severe tissue damage of the infected organ [1]. We will focus primarily on the effects of latent HCMV and chronic HCV infection on NK cells
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