CD8+CD28− T cells: key cytotoxic players impacting disease pathogenesis in chronic HBV infection

During chronic hepatitis B (CHB), CD8+ T cells down-regulate CD28, the primary co-stimulation molecule for T-cell activation. Diverse functional attributes of CD8+CD28− T cells are suggested in various disease contexts. The present study aimed to characterize CD8+CD28− T cells in different phases of chronic Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection (CHI)- Immune-tolerance (IT), Hepatitis B e-antigen-positive CHB (EP-CHB), Inactive carriers (IC) and...