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NKT cells—an early warning system for HBV infection

Nature Medicine volume 18, pages 1014–1016 (2012)Cite this article

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Whereas the adaptive immune response is essential for control and clearance of hepatitis B virus infection, the importance of the early innate immune response is controversial and the players involved are poorly defined. A new study shows that activation of natural killer T cells by infected hepatocytes is crucial for the early control of this disease (pages 1060–1068).

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Figure 1: Activation of NKT cells by HBV-infected hepatocytes primes the adaptive immune response and promotes viral clearance.

Katie Vicari

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dale I. Godfrey and Adam P. Uldrich are in the Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.,

    Dale I Godfrey & Adam P Uldrich

  2. Alan G. Baxter is at the Comparative Genomics Centre, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia.,

    Alan G Baxter

Authors
  1. Dale I Godfrey
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  2. Adam P Uldrich
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  3. Alan G Baxter
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Correspondence to Dale I Godfrey.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Godfrey, D., Uldrich, A. & Baxter, A. NKT cells—an early warning system for HBV infection. Nat Med 18, 1014–1016 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm.2853

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