Open Access

VIEWPOINT

Long term immunological perturbations post DAA therapy in chronic HCV/HIV co-infected patients

by SONIA MORETTI, FLAVIA MANCINI, ALESSANDRA BORSETTI^*

National HIV/AIDS Research Center, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, 00161, Italy

* Corresponding Author: ALESSANDRA BORSETTI. Email:

BIOCELL 2022, 46(12), 2695-2699. https://doi.org/10.32604/biocell.2022.022257

Received 01 March 2022; Accepted 22 June 2022; Issue published 10 August 2022

Abstract

Direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapies are efficacious for the achievement of sustained virologic response (SVR) in almost all treated hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected patients. However, the impacts of HCV eradication on immune function and chronic immune activation in the long-term remain controversial and limited, especially in patients co-infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Indeed, although restoration of many immune responses clearly can be observed, several features of immune perturbations persist over time after HCV clearance. Understanding the degree and reasons of the partial recovery of the immune system in chronic HCV/HIV co-infection after HCV elimination is pivotal to avoid disease progression and possible long-term clinical outcomes in cured patients, as well as contributing to the development of immunotherapy drug design.

---

Keywords

---