Hepatitis B virus: biology, immunopathogenesis, NK/NKT system in viral persistence

In this review, the problem of hepatitis B is considered as related to the recent data on the biology of the viral agent, on the pathogenesis of disturbances that it causes in an organism as well as on accompanying deviations in its immune system. Special attention is paid to mechanisms of hepatitis B virus (HBV) persistence and the role of regulatory lymphocytes of NK/NKT system in this process. Some problems in further studies are specified.