# Adoptive MHC-E-Restricted T Cell Therapy for the Treatment of Chronic Hepatitis B Virus Infection

> **NIH NIH R01** · OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $715,124

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Chronic hepatitis B virus infections (CHB) are recognized as a major global health concern. CHB affects 247
million people worldwide, and 887,000 die annually from associated liver complications. This high morbidity
and mortality is exacerbated by the fact that treatments for CHB are rarely curative. Thus, there remains an
urgent need to develop new therapeutic treatments for CHB that will lead to clearance or lasting suppression of
infection.
Here, we propose a new way to target HBV through the use of MHC-E-restricted CD8+ T cells. There are only
two MHC-E alleles within the human population and they are functionally equivalent. Therefore, HBV-specific
CD8+ T cells restricted by MHC-E should be effective in all patients with CHB. We will characterize the T cell
receptors (TCRs) of MHC-E-restricted CD8+ T cells in rhesus macaques inoculated with a rhesus CMV vector
that engenders large numbers of these unique responses. We will then test the ability of these TCRs to
recognize and suppress HBV infection. Given the urgent need for tractable CHB therapeutics, we believe the
research proposed herein to be of the highest significance.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9936119
- **Project number:** 5R01AI144008-02
- **Recipient organization:** OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Benjamin J Burwitz
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $715,124
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-06-01 → 2024-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9936119

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9936119, Adoptive MHC-E-Restricted T Cell Therapy for the Treatment of Chronic Hepatitis B Virus Infection (5R01AI144008-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9936119. Licensed CC0.

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