# Understanding human antibody responses to chronic viral hepatitis C

> **NIH NIH R01** · SCRIPPS RESEARCH INSTITUTE, THE · 2023 · $621,806

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infect ~1% of the world population, predisposing the infected individuals
to increased risk of liver cirrhosis and liver cancer. New infections in the US has risen in the past
decade and it is estimated that only 20% of the individuals with hepatitis C are aware of their
infection, and only 15% of those have been treated. Although highly effective direct-acting
antivirals (DAAs) can cure over 95% chronic HCV patients, reinfections have been reported in
individuals who have cleared a previous infection either spontaneously or after a successful
treatment. The observations underscore that immune memory to HCV acquired through
infection is not effective against reinfection. To guide the development of a vaccine and public
health strategy to protect high-risk populations, it will be important to understand immune
memory to HCV in DAA-cured patients particularly cross-neutralizing antibody response. In this
project we will investigate how human memory B cell response is altered by chronic infection
and its recovery in chronic HCV patients undergoing DAA treatment. We will investigate why
HCV-immune lymphocytes do not maintain an effective memory against HCV after successful
DAA treatment. We will also track the functions and recovery of memory B cells encoding for
antibodies targeting conserved virus neutralizing epitopes in the patients. These cells will be
crucial for protection against HCV both in reinfection and in vaccination. This study will not only
provide an excellent opportunity to learn about human immune response impacted by chronic
viral infection but will also generate critical information for the protection against HCV infection.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10551237
- **Project number:** 5R01AI168917-02
- **Recipient organization:** SCRIPPS RESEARCH INSTITUTE, THE
- **Principal Investigator:** Mansun Law
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $621,806
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-01-17 → 2026-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10551237

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10551237, Understanding human antibody responses to chronic viral hepatitis C (5R01AI168917-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10551237. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*