The following is a summary of “B-Cell Activation Gene Signature in Blood and Liver of Hepatitis B e Antigen–Positive Patients With Immune Active Chronic Hepatitis B,” published in the June 2024 issue of Infectious Disease by Osmani et al.

Chronic HBV infection is known to cause widespread immune dysfunction impacting various cell types. The study has focused on T cells, revealing a weakened response to the virus. More recent studies have surprisingly shown increased activation of circulating B cells compared to T cells.

Researchers conducted a retrospective study analyzing the gene expression profiles of B cells isolated from both blood and liver tissue in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV).

They employed a two-way approach to assess B cell activation in patients with chronic HBV and active immune response. Firstly, RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) and flow cytometry were utilized to analyze peripheral blood B cells from the patients, comparing profiles to HCs. Secondly, gene expression analysis of liver B cells was conducted using both bulk and single-cell RNA-seq techniques.

The result showed that the B cell activation signature significantly increased genes associated with the immune system, such as IRF1, STAT1, STAT3, TAP1, and TAPBP. Analysis of liver B cells using single-cell RNA sequencing showed a similar activation pattern. Genes like IRF1 and CD83 were upregulated, and CD69 expression was significantly higher. Notably, naive and memory B cell subsets appeared to be the leading carriers of this activation signature.

Investigators concluded that B cell gene profiles may reflect the responsiveness to HBV infection and have potential significance for designing future clinical trials evaluating immunomodulatory treatment strategies for chronic HBV.

Source: academic.oup.com/jid/advance-article/doi/10.1093/infdis/jiae280/7689390