BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES Non-detection of hepatitis B virus (HBV) envelope protein (hepatitis B surface antigen, HBsAg) in a chronically HBV infected individual has been described as occult infection. One possible reason for this phenotype is alteration in large (L-HBsAg) to small (S-HBsAg) envelope protein ratio associated with reduced or non secretion of HBsAg. This results in quantitative lev...

We measured HBsAg/IgG complexes (CX) quantitatively by ELISA from HBsAg positive serum of 35 liver disease patients, 15 patients with glomerular diseases (8 membranous glomerulonephritis (MGN) 7 membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (MPGN), and 50 healthy carriers of HBsAg. HbsAg/IgG CX was detected in 26 out of 35 liver disease patients (74.3%), 5 out of 50 healthy carriers (10%), and one o...

Response to hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection [HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) and antibody to HBsAg (anti-HBs)], serum iron, total iron-binding capacity, hematological status (erythrocytes, Hb, and hematocrit), and evidence of liver damage (serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase; aspartate aminotransferase, L-aspartate:2-oxoglutarate aminotransferase, EC 2.6.1.1) were determined for 201 patients on c...

OBJECTIVE To determine whether the high prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) carriage in our population can explain the previous observation of an association between increased maternal serum ferritin concentration and gestational diabetes in Hong Kong Chinese women. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A retrospective study was performed on 767 nonanemic women with singleton pregnancy wh...

The long-term hepatic complications after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) in hepatitis B virus (HBV) endemic area are unknown. We examined the serological and liver-related outcome of 803 consecutive patients who received allogeneic HSCTs, with a median follow-up period of 83 months (range, 0.5-155 months). Late HBV-related hepatitis occurred in 2 of the 721 hepatitis ...

The currently marketed hepatitis B vaccines in the U.S. are based on the recombinant major hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) of hepatitis B virus. Although a large majority of individuals develop protective immunity to HBV-induced disease after three immunizations, routinely a small but a significant percentage of the human population does not respond well to these vaccines. In this report, w...

Different protein- or DNA-based vaccination techniques are available that prime potent humoral and cellular, T1 or T2 immune responses to the hepatitis B surface Ag (HBsAg) in mice. T1 and T2 are immune responses with isotype profile indicating Th1 and Th2 immunoregulation. We tested whether HBsAg-specific immune responses can be established in transgenic mice that express HBsAg in the liver (H...

BACKGROUND The ultimate goal of hepatitis B treatment is hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) seroclearance. Several factors have been suggested to be associated with the rate of HBsAg reduction in antiviral-naive or lamivudine therapy cohorts. However, there are few studies evaluating the factors during long-term entecavir (ETV) therapy. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate the factors to...

BACKGROUND Vaccine-escaped hepatitis B virus (HBV) mutations occur within the "a" determinant area, which is located in the major hydrophilic region (MHR) of the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) protein. It is now well established that the common G145R mutation is highly capable of escaping from HBsAg immune recognition. However, the impacts of this mutation on the structure and immunogenic ...