Reversal of hepatitis B virus-induced systemic immune tolerance by intrinsic innate immune stimulation

Systemic immune tolerance induced by chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a significant question, but the mechanism of which remains unclear. In this mini-review, we summarize the impaired innate and adaptive immune responses involved in immune tolerance in chronic HBV infection. Furthermore, we delineate a novel dual functional small RNA to inhibit HBV replication and stimulate innate immunity against HBV, which proposed a promising immunotherapeutic intervention to interrupt HBV-induced immunotolerance. A mouse model of HBV persistence was established and used to observe the immune tolerant to HBV vaccination, the cell-intrinsic immune tolerance of which might be reversed by chemically synthesized dual functional small RNA (3p-hepatitis B Virus X gene [HBx]-small interfering RNA) in vitro experiments and by biologically constructed dual functional vector (single-stranded RNA-HBx-short hairpin RNA) in vivo experiment using HBV-carrier mice.