Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a worldwide health problem because of its incidence and
pathogenicity. It might evolve into chronic disease, cirrhosis, and/or hepatocellular
carcinoma (HCC) and the outcome is mainly determined by the host immune response. For
viral clearance, combined innate and adaptive immune responses are required; resolution
requires a vigorous, durable, polyclonal CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell response, with an increase
in virus-specific CD8+ T cells or cytotoxic T lymphocytes. Failure of efficient immune …