Exploration of Immunology

Table 2. Comparative analysis of HLA expression in HBV and HCV infections.

Features	HBV	HCV	References
HLA-I expression	Upregulation of hepatocytes enhances CD8⁺ T cell recognition but promotes immune-mediated liver injury	Consistent upregulation in hepatocytes supports sustained immune surveillance	[41]
Viral protein interference	HBV X protein downregulates HLA-I, enabling viral escape and persistence	HCV core, NS3, and NS5A proteins interfere with antigen processing, reducing peptide loading	[38]
Regulation pattern	Bidirectional: upregulation vs. suppression depending on stage and immune context	Predominantly upregulation with indirect suppression via antigen-processing disruption	[42]
HLA-II expression	Aberrant induction of hepatocytes and cholangiocytes, associated with chronic inflammation and autoimmune-like pathology	Similar aberrant induction fuels intrahepatic inflammation and autoimmune-like injury	[43]
Immune evasion strategy	Direct suppression of surface HLA expression by viral proteins	Disruption of antigen processing machinery, broader upstream dysregulation	[44]
Clinical implications	Balance between viral clearance and immune-mediated injury; linked to fibrosis progression	Persistent immune activation but dampened cytotoxicity; linked to chronicity and HCC risk	[45]

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HBV: hepatitis B virus; HCC: hepatocellular carcinoma; HCV: hepatitis C virus; HLA: human leukocyte antigen.

Declarations

Author contributions

AS and AMZ: Investigation, Writing—original draft. AS and TK: Conceptualization, Investigation, Writing—original draft, Writing—review & editing. GS: Conceptualization, Investigation, Writing—original draft, Writing—review & editing, Validation, Supervision. All authors read and approved the submitted version.

Conflicts of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Ethical approval

Not applicable.

Consent to participate

Not applicable.

Consent to publication

Not applicable.

Availability of data and materials

Not applicable.

Funding

The research protocol was approved and supported by the Student Research Committee, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences [Grant No: 76511]. The funder had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

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