Fatehi, F, Bingham, RJ, Stockley, PG orcid.org/0000-0002-1360-2751 et al. (1 more author) (2022) An age-structured model of hepatitis B viral infection highlights the potential of different therapeutic strategies. Scientific Reports, 12 (1). 1252. ISSN 2045-2322
Abstract
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a global health threat, and its elimination by 2030 has been prioritised by the World Health Organisation. Here we present an age-structured model for the immune response to an HBV infection, which takes into account contributions from both cell-mediated and humoral immunity. The model has been validated using published patient data recorded during acute infection. It has been adapted to the scenarios of chronic infection, clearance of infection, and flare-ups via variation of the immune response parameters. The impacts of immune response exhaustion and non-infectious subviral particles on the immune response dynamics are analysed. A comparison of different treatment options in the context of this model reveals that drugs targeting aspects of the viral life cycle are more effective than exhaustion therapy, a form of therapy mitigating immune response exhaustion. Our results suggest that antiviral treatment is best started when viral load is declining rather than in a flare-up. The model suggests that a fast antibody production rate always leads to viral clearance, highlighting the promise of antibody therapies currently in clinical trials.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © The Author(s) 2022. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY)]. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Biological Sciences (Leeds) > School of Molecular and Cellular Biology (Leeds) > Biological Chemistry (Leeds) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number Wellcome Trust 110145/Z/15/Z |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 03 Feb 2022 08:10 |
Last Modified: | 03 Feb 2022 08:10 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Nature Research |
Identification Number: | 10.1038/s41598-021-04022-z |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:183134 |