Multifaceted functions of B cells in chronic hepatitis C virus infection

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) elicits T- and B-cell responses which are believed to play an important role in infection control. B cells have generally been neglected because they do not seem to significantly influence the course of HCV infection. In this review, B lymphocytes are viewed both as classical antibody producing cells, with the hypervariable regione 1 being a biologically relevant target protein and as a model of virus-host interaction in lymphoproliferative disorders characteristic of persistent microbial infections.