A new immunotherapy approach may very well pave the way to treating hepatitis B virus (HBV) — a major global health concern and the most common cause of liver cancer.
Researchers from the University College London (UCL), with support from the University of Oxford, the Royal Free London NHS Trust, and Leiden University Medical Centre in the Netherlands, conducted a pioneering study that used immune liver cells to boost the pateint’s immune response against HBV.
The current standard of care for hepatitis B is often not able to eliminate the virus, prevent the development of cancer, nor rescue immune cells. Thus, this novel approach provides a a glimmer of hope for hepatitis B, for which no current treatment is available.
“The development of novel therapeutic options is crucial to improve patient care,” asserted study lead author Professor Mala Maini from UCL’s Division of Infection & Immunity in a press release.
Immunotherapy, the approach used in this study, is a treatment that uses a person’s own immune system, such as one’s white blood cells called ‘T cells’, to attack cancer cells. Comprehensive research into the application of immunotherapy continues to evolve.
“Immune cells such as T cells are indispensable for fighting viruses and tumors but are often highly dysfunctional and fail to control these diseases,” explained Netherland’s Professor Maini.
In the study, which was published in Nature Communications, Professor Maini also noted how they “aimed to identify a treatment target to directly inhibit the virus, while also boosting the immune cells fighting it.”
The researchers isolated immune cells directly from patient liver and tumor tissue; this method showed that targeting acyl-CoA: cholesterol acyltransferase (ACAT) — an enzyme that helps to manage cholesterol levels in cells — was highly effective at boosting immune responses.
How are cholesterol levels and the liver connected?
Cholesterol or fat from our diet is primarily cleared in our body by the liver. Therefore, liver diseases like hepatitis B can complicate the liver function and hinder it from clearing bad cholesterol.
The findings of Maini’s team show that blocking the activity of ACAT, by way of ACAT inhibitors, boosts the specific immune cells that can fight both the virus and associated cancerous tumors. This breakthrough discovery demonstrates the enzyme’s effectiveness as an immunotherapy.
“We have found a highly effective novel target for the treatment
of chronic hepatitis B virus infection and liver cancer,” asserted UCL’s Dr. Nathalie Schmidt — the first author of the study. “Our findings offer exciting new possibilities for the treatment of patients with chronic viral infections and cancer.” ADRLF cheers on scienctific researchers around the globe, who are making strides in their respective fields — particularly in immunotherapy, relative to the hopeful treatment of hepatitis.
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