Table 1.
Potential immunological mechanisms involved in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development after direct-acting antivirals (DAA)-mediated hepatitis C virus (HCV) clearance.
| Chronic HCV Infection | After HCV Clearance by DAAs | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| NK cell | Phenotype | Activated (NKG2D upregulation) | Normalized |
| Function | Increased cytotoxicity Defective IFN-γ production |
Normalized | |
| Diversity | Reduced | Not normalized | |
| MAIT cell | Phenotype | Activated | Normalized |
| Function | Increased cytotoxicity Defective IFN-γ production |
Not normalized | |
| Frequency | Reduced | Not normalized | |
| Treg cell | Phenotype | Activated | Not normalized |
| Frequency | Increased | Not normalized | |
| MDSC | Frequency | Increased | Not normalized |
MAIT cell, mucosal-associated invariant T cell; MDSC, myeloid-derived suppressor cell; NK cell, natural killer cell; NKG2D, NK group 2D.