Divergent contributions of regulatory T cells to the pathogenesis of chronic hepatitis C

Figures & data

Figure 1. Increases in both the number and function of T_reg cells have been implicated in the pathogenesis of chronic hepatitis C. Virus-associated regulatory T cell epitopes, homologous to peptide sequences found in the human plasma proteome, induce nT_reg cell activation, conversion of T_eff to iT_reg cells and infectious tolerance (A). Viral epitopes lacking human homology, which are presented by immature DCs, elicit additional HCV-specific iT_reg cells (B). T_reg cells inhibit T_eff cell function by direct, contact-dependent and -independent mechanisms and by indirect mechanisms that affect DC maturation and/or immunostimulatory activity (C).

Figure 2. Contrasting contributions of T_reg cells to the pathogenesis of chronic hepatitis C. An increased ratio of T_reg to T_eff cells impairs spontaneous viral clearance and suppresses liver injury and the pathogenesis of chronic hepatitis C as the disease progresses.