NK cells contribute to HBV eliminat

NK cells contribute to HBV elimination in the presence of adaptive immunityAs innate immune effectors, NK cells play an important role in defense against various viral infections. However, whether NK cells also play a role in helping adaptive immunity remains unclear. To evaluate the role of NK cells in this model, NK cells were depleted by injecting anti-NK1.1 (PK136) or anti-AsGM1 Abs into WT mice; NK cell depletion efficiencies are shown in Supplemental Fig. 2A and 2B. HBV persistence was observed in mice depleted of NK cells by either PK136 or anti-AsGM1, with high serum HBsAg levels persisting for 8 wk (Fig. 2A, 2B). In addition, NK cell depletion using anti-AsGM1 also induced an increase in the number of HBcAg-positive hepatocytes from the liver (Fig. 2C). Consistent with these findings, hydrodynamic injection of the HBV plasmid into E4BP4−/− mice, which are deficient in DX5+CD49a− conventional NK cells, resulted in serum HBsAg persistence (Fig. 2D). Therefore, these data indicate that NK cells mediate HBV clearance.