Review
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2018. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Nov 28, 2018; 24(44): 4962-4973
Published online Nov 28, 2018. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v24.i44.4962
Mononuclear phagocyte system in hepatitis C virus infection
Yu Yang, Zheng-Kun Tu, Xing-Kai Liu, Ping Zhang
Yu Yang, Xing-Kai Liu, Ping Zhang, Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun 130021, Jilin Province, China
Zheng-Kun Tu, Institute of Translational Medicine, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun 130061, Jilin Province, China
Author contributions: Liu XK collected the information; Yang Y wrote the paper; Tu ZK and Zhang P revised the paper.
Conflict-of-interest statement: No potential conflicts of interest and no financial support.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author to: Ping Zhang, MD, Chief Doctor, Professor, Surgeon, Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The First Hospital of Jilin University, No. 71, Xinmin Street, Changchun 130021, Jilin Province, China. z_ping@jlu.edu.cn
Telephone: +86-431-81875168 Fax: +86-431-81875168
Received: September 8, 2018
Peer-review started: September 10, 2018
First decision: October 24, 2018
Revised: October 30, 2018
Accepted: November 7, 2018
Article in press: November 8, 2018
Published online: November 28, 2018
Abstract

The mononuclear phagocyte system (MPS), which consists of monocytes, dendritic cells (DCs), and macrophages, plays a vital role in the innate immune defense against pathogens. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is efficient in evading the host immunity, thereby facilitating its development into chronic infection. Chronic HCV infection is the leading cause of end-stage liver diseases, liver cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Acquired immune response was regarded as the key factor to eradicate HCV. However, innate immunity can regulate the acquired immune response. Innate immunity-derived cytokines shape the adaptive immunity by regulating T-cell differentiation, which determines the outcome of acute HCV infection. Inhibition of HCV-specific T-cell responses is one of the most important strategies for immune system evasion. It is meaningful to illustrate the role of innate immune response in HCV infection. With the MPS being the important factor in innate immunity, therefore, understanding the role of the MPS in HCV infection will shed light on the pathophysiology of chronic HCV infection. In this review, we outline the impact of HCV infection on the MPS and cytokine production. We discuss how HCV is detected by the MPS and describe the function and impairment of MPS components in HCV infection.

Keywords: Mononuclear phagocyte system, Hepatitis C virus, Monocyte, Dendritic cell, Macrophage

Core tip: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is efficient to develop into chronic infection. Innate immune system can shape the acquired immune response, which can eradicate HCV directly. As the main component of innate immunity, the mononuclear phagocyte system (MPS) plays a vital role in HCV infection. In this review, we discuss the interaction between the HCV and MPS. MPS can detect HCV to promote virus eradication, and HCV can shape the MPS to facilitate HCV persistence. We hope that this review will enable us to better understand HCV infection.