Study of cellular immune response against Hepatitis E Virus (HEV)

Hepatitis E virus infection (HEV) is a major cause of acute viral hepatitis in the developing world. The immunopathology of HEV infections has not yet been elucidated. The virus is noncytopathic, and therefore, liver injury may be attributed to immune-mediated damage by cytotoxic T cells and natural killer cells. Therefore, we studied the nature of immune cells involved in HEV-induced liver damage using immunohistochemistry in liver biopsies taken from patients with HEV-induced acute liver failure and demonstrated a significant infiltration of activated CD8(+) T cells containing granzymes. These findings suggest the possible involvement of cytotoxic T cells in disease pathogenesis during HEV infection.