TCF1+ hepatitis C virus-specific CD8+ T cells are maintained after cessation of chronic antigen stimulation

Abstract

Virus-specific CD8+T cells lose effector function over the course of chronic infection, a process called ‘exhaustion’, but the fate of these cells after treatment-induced antigen elimination is unknown. Here the authors show that exhausted cells persist in patients even after direct-acting antiviral therapy removes antigen exposure, and that these cells are responsive on re-exposure to antigen.