Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection provides a unique opportunity to study the effects of spontaneous or treatment-induced viral elimination on the human immune system. Twenty to 50% of patients with acute HCV infection spontaneously clear the virus, which is related to the quality of the individual's immune response, while the chronic infection is associated with an altered and impaired immune response. Direct-acting antiviral agents are now available that provide sustained viral elimination in more than 95% of patients with chronic HCV infection. Viral elimination leads to a decrease in disease sequelae such as cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, and extrahepatic manifestations also improve. However, some patients may still experience long-term complications, and viral elimination does not protect against HCV reinfection. This review addresses the question of whether the altered and impaired immune response caused by HCV normalizes after viral elimination and if this may affect the long-term clinical course after HCV cure.

丙型肝炎病毒 (HCV) 感染提供了一个独特的机会来研究自发或治疗诱导的病毒消除对人体免疫系统的影响。20% 至 50% 的急性 HCV 感染患者会自发清除病毒，这与个体免疫反应的质量有关，而慢性感染则与免疫反应的改变和受损有关。现在可以使用直接作用的抗病毒药物，在 95% 以上的慢性 HCV 感染患者中提供持续的病毒消除。病毒消除导致疾病后遗症减少如肝硬化和肝细胞癌，肝外表现也有改善。然而，一些患者可能仍会出现长期并发症，病毒消除并不能防止 HCV 再感染。这篇综述解决了由 HCV 引起的免疫反应改变和受损在病毒消除后是否正常化以及这是否会影响 HCV 治愈后的长期临床过程的问题。