Hepatitis B virus e antigen (HBeAg) may have a negative effect on dendrtic cells maturation

Hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) is believed to be required for the establishment of chronic HBV infection, but the mechanisms remain unknown. Dendritic cells (DCs) are the most potent antigen-presenting cells that play an essential role in the initiation of immune response. And only mature DCs are capable of priming and activating T lymphocytes to induce protective immunity. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of HBeAg on the maturation of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulated murine bone marrow-derived DCs (BM-DCs) and how HBeAg affect DCs’ function. We found that HBeAg down-regulated the expression of immunologically important cell surface molecules (CD86 and MHC-II) on DCs and exerted a suppressive function which was partially mediated by IL-10 secretion on DCs’ T cell stimulatory activity in vitro. Additionally, HBeAg down-regulated the IL-12 production from DCs by inhibiting the phosphorylation of p38. In conclusion, HBeAg may play a negative role in the activation of DCs, which may be necessary to better understand the immunoregulation of HBeAg and helpful to the HBV immunotherapy.