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Chronic hepatitis B: role of anti-platelet therapy in inflammation control

Cellular & Molecular Immunology volume 12, pages 264–268 (2015)Cite this article

Abstract

Platelets play a known role in the maintenance of vascular homeostasis, but these cells are emerging as important cellular mediators of acute and chronic inflammatory diseases. Platelets are key elements in the pathogenesis of acute and chronic liver disease associated with hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection by promoting the accumulation of virus-specific CD8+ T cells and nonspecific inflammatory cells into the liver parenchyma. This review discusses major platelet functions in immune and inflammatory responses, with an emphasis on recent pre-clinical studies that suggest that the inhibition of platelet activation pathways represent an alternative therapeutic strategy with potential use in the reduction of virus-specific T cell-mediated chronic inflammation, liver fibrosis and hepatocellular carcinoma in patients who are chronically infected with HBV.

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Acknowledgements

This work was partially supported by grants GR08.17 and GR08.33 from the Italian Ministry of Health.

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  1. Division of Immunology, Transplantation and Infectious Diseases, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy

    Roberto Aiolfi & Giovanni Sitia

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  1. Roberto Aiolfi
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  2. Giovanni Sitia
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Correspondence to Giovanni Sitia.

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Aiolfi, R., Sitia, G. Chronic hepatitis B: role of anti-platelet therapy in inflammation control. Cell Mol Immunol 12, 264–268 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/cmi.2014.124

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