Background: HBV and HIV co-infection is a common occurrence globally, with significant morbidity and mortality. Both viruses lead to immune dysregulation including changes in NK cells, a key component of antiviral defense and a promising target for HBV cure strategies. Here we used high-throughput single cell analysis to explore the immune cell landscape in people with HBV mono-infection and HIV/HBV co-infection, on antiviral therapy, with emphasis on identifying the distinctive characteristics of NK cell subsets that can be therapeutically harnessed.
Results: Our data show striking differences in the transcriptional programs of NK cells. HIV/HBV co-infection was characterized by an overrepresentation of adaptive, KLRC2 expressing NK cells, including a higher abundance of a chemokine enriched (CCL3/CCL4) adaptive cluster. The NK cell remodeling in HIV/HBV co-infection was reflected in enriched activation pathways, including CD3ζ phosphorylation and ZAP-70 translocation that can mediate stronger ADCC responses and a bias towards chemokine/cytokine signaling. By contrast HBV mono-infection imposed a stronger cytotoxic profile on NK cells and a more prominent signature of 'exhaustion' with higher circulating levels of HBsAg. Phenotypic alterations in the NK cell pool in co-infection were consistent with increased 'adaptiveness' and better capacity for ADCC compared to HBV mono-infection. Overall, an adaptive NK cell signature correlated inversely with circulating levels of HBsAg and HBV-RNA in our cohort.
Conclusions: This study provides new insights into the differential signature and functional profile of NK cells in HBV and HIV/HBV co-infection, highlighting pathways that can be manipulated to tailor NK cell-focused approaches to advance HBV cure strategies in different patient groups.
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