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Not yet recruitingNCT07777250Updated Aug 28, 2026

Targeting ANKRD11 Reverses HBV-Specific CD8+ T Cell Dysfunction and Tolerance

An observational study in Chronic Hepatitis B, sponsored by Beijing Municipal Administration of Hospitals. Not yet recruiting. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 65 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-08-28.

Sponsored by Beijing Municipal Administration of Hospitals · Observational

Study type
Observational
Model
Other
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
40
Ages
18 Years to 65 Years
Sex
All
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Study summary

Achieving a functional cure for chronic hepatitis B (CHB) is largely hindered by the irreversible functional exhaustion and immune tolerance of hepatitis B virus (HBV)-specific CD8 positive T (CD8+ T) cells. In investigators previous studies, an in vivo Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeat(CRISPR) screen identified ANKRD11 for the first time as an "epigenetic brake" on CD8+ T-cell effector function. Loss of ANKRD11 markedly enhanced the expansion, effector function, and viral clearance capacity of HBV-specific T cells. Based on these findings, investigators hypothesize that ANKRD11 regulates the epigenetic program of T-cell exhaustion by restricting the activity of AP-1 family transcription factors, and that targeting ANKRD11 can reverse T-cell dysfunction and overcome immune tolerance.

This project will: (1) elucidate the epigenetic mechanisms by which ANKRD11 regulates T-cell exhaustion using conditional knockout mouse models and multi-omics approaches; (2) evaluate how ANKRD11 deficiency reshapes the differentiation trajectory and antiviral function of HBV-specific T cells in models of chronic HBV infection; and (3) develop a combinatorial gene-editing strategy integrating "release of the brake" with "stepping on the accelerator" to generate enhanced T Cell Receptor-T cell Therapy(TCR-T) cells and evaluate their efficacy and safety in humanized mouse models. The study is expected to define a novel mechanism by which ANKRD11 regulates T-cell exhaustion, establish an enhanced TCR-T therapeutic strategy, and provide a potential approach toward achieving a functional cure for chronic HBV infection.

Read the detailed description

The human participant component of this study is limited to prospective collection of peripheral blood samples from patients with chronic hepatitis B and healthy volunteers for preclinical laboratory investigations. No therapeutic intervention is assigned to human participants. The major experimental components of the overall research project are conducted in vitro and in animal models.

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Conditions studied

  • Chronic Hepatitis B

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Keywords

  • Chronic Hepatitis B
  • CD8+ T Cell Exhaustion
  • ANKRD11
  • Epigenetic Regulation
  • TCR-T Cell Therapy
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In context

Hepatitis B, Chronic

895 studies on the registry are indexed under Hepatitis B, Chronic; 151 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 40 is below the median of 400 across 206 observational studies indexed under Hepatitis B, Chronic.

Browse Hepatitis B, Chronic studies →

Lead sponsor

Beijing Municipal Administration of Hospitals is the lead sponsor of 14 studies on the registry; 9 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 65 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes
Sampling method
Non-probability sample

Study population

HLA-A11+ healthy donors or patients with chronic HBV infection providing peripheral blood for isolation of CD8+ T cells; Presence of acute infection or other conditions that may substantially affect T-cell function; Inability to provide an adequate peripheral blood sample or insufficient viable CD8+ T cells for laboratory analyses.

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • (1) Inclusion criteria for healthy donors: Age 18-60 years; Voluntary participation in this study and signing a written form; HLA-A11 positive; Generally in good health condition; No infection with virus, virus, , syphilis, etc.; No severe liver, kidney, heart, lung, or blood system diseases; No recent agents, cell therapy, or other treatments that may significantly affect immune function. (2) Inclusion criteria for chronic HBV patients: Age 18-65 years; Voluntary participation in this study and signing a written informed consent form; HLA-A11 positive; Meeting the diagnostic criteria for chronic HBV infection or chronic hepatitis B; HBsAg positive for ≥6 months; Able to provide basic clinical data, including HBsAg, HBeAg, HBV DNA, , AST, etc.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

(1) Exclusion criteria for healthy donors: HLA-A11 negative; having concurrent infections such as , , , syphilis, etc.; having diseases, malignant tumors or severe chronic diseases; having recently used , , biological agents or undergone cell therapy; pregnant or lactating women; having obvious anemia, abnormal coagulation function or conditions unsuitable for blood collection; researchers consider them unsuitable to participate in this study. (2) Exclusion criteria for chronic HBV patients: HLA-A11 negative; having concurrent infections such as HCV, HDV, HIV or syphilis; having other clear liver diseases such as autoimmune liver disease, alcoholic liver disease, drug-induced liver injury, genetic metabolic liver disease, etc.; having liver cell carcinoma or other malignant tumors; having decompensated liver cirrhosis or severe liver failure; having severe heart, lung, kidney or blood system diseases; pregnant or lactating women; having recently received systemic immunosuppressants, biological agents or cell therapy; having severe anemia, abnormal coagulation function or other conditions unsuitable for blood collection; researchers consider them unsuitable to participate in this study.

Terms in these criteria, in plain language(8)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

Informed consent

Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.

You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.

Hepatitis B tests

Hepatitis B is a virus that infects the liver. These are separate tests: HBsAg positive usually means a current infection (a recent vaccination can briefly cause it too); total anti-HBc (HBcAb) positive means an infection now or in the past; HBV DNA measures how much virus is in the blood.

Some studies accept a past infection if HBV DNA is undetectable, sometimes with antiviral medicine during the study. Check what this study allows.

Hepatitis C tests

Hepatitis C is a virus that infects the liver. An HCV antibody test can stay positive after an infection has cleared (and is occasionally positive without one); an HCV RNA test shows whether the virus is there now.

After treatment, hepatitis C counts as cured when HCV RNA is still undetectable 12 weeks or more after the treatment ended. Studies often accept people cured this way.

HIV

The human immunodeficiency virus, which weakens the immune system.

Many studies now accept people whose HIV is controlled on treatment, judged by the viral load and the CD4 count. Check the limits this study sets.

Immunosuppression

A weakened immune system. It can come from an illness, such as HIV or some blood cancers, or from medicines that turn the immune system down, for example after an organ transplant or for an autoimmune disease; steroids at higher doses count.

Read whether the line is about a condition or about medicines, and which medicines and doses it means.

ALT and AST (liver enzymes)

Two enzymes measured in a routine blood test of the liver. Higher levels can mean the liver is under strain or damaged. SGPT and SGOT are older names for ALT and AST.

Criteria usually give a limit as a multiple of the upper limit of normal (ULN), often higher when cancer has spread to the liver.

Autoimmune disease

A condition in which the immune system attacks the body’s own tissues, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, psoriasis, type 1 diabetes or inflammatory bowel disease.

Immunotherapy studies often leave out active autoimmune disease, and some name exceptions, such as thyroid disease on replacement hormone. Check the exceptions this study lists.

Corticosteroids (steroids)

Anti-inflammatory medicines such as prednisone, prednisolone and dexamethasone — not the anabolic steroids used for muscle.

Studies differ in what they allow: check which steroid medicines, routes (tablets, injections, creams, inhalers, eye drops) and doses this study accepts.

05

Study design

Observational model
Other
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
40 participants (estimated)
Patient registry
No
Biospecimen retention
Samples with dna

Groups and cohorts

  • Peripheral Blood Donors

    HLA-A11+ healthy donors or patients with chronic HBV infection will provide peripheral blood for isolation of CD8+ T cells. No study intervention will be assigned or administered to the participants. The isolated CD8+ T cells will be used for ex vivo TCR-T cell generation and subsequent functional evaluation.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Antigen-Specific Cytotoxic Activity of HBV-Specific TCR-T Cells

    Antigen-specific cytotoxic activity of HBV-specific TCR-T cells will be assessed using HBc141-151 peptide-loaded T2-A11 target cells at effector-to-target ratios of 1:1, 2.5:1, 5:1, and 10:1 by LDH release assay and flow cytometry-based cytotoxicity assay.

    Time frame: After 4 hours of co-culture

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Study locations

No study locations are listed for this record.

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References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Aug 28, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT07777250
Lead sponsor
Beijing Municipal Administration of Hospitals
Responsible party
Minghui Li (Professor of Medicine, Beijing Ditan Hospital) — Principal investigator
First posted
Aug 20, 2026
Start date
Dec 2026 (estimated)
Primary completion
Jun 2028 (estimated)
Completion
Aug 2028 (estimated)
Last update
Aug 28, 2026

Study contacts

Minghui Li
Contact
wuhm2000@sina.com
010-84322078

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in Aug 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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