BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between the expression of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in human ovary and placenta and the vertical transmission of hepatitis B virus (HBV). METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FIDNINGS Ovarian and placental tissue specimens of pregnant women infected with HBV were collected during cesarean section and immunostained for HBsAg. The s...

Quantification of serum hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) helps the management of patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Median HBsAg levels differ significantly during the natural history of HBV infection, progressively declining from immune tolerance to inactive phase. The combination of an HBsAg <1000 IU/mL and HBV DNA <2000 IU/mL at a single time point accurately identif...

The immunodominant, conformational "a" determinant of hepatitis B surface Ag (HBsAg) elicits Ab responses. We selectively expressed the Ab-binding, glycosylated, native a determinant (residue 120-147) of HBsAg in a fusion protein containing C-terminally the HBsAg fragment SII (residue 80-180) fused to a SV40 T-Ag-derived hsp73-binding 77 aa (T(77)) or non-hsp-binding 60 aa (T(60)) N terminus. A...

In previous studies, the mechanisms of acute liver injury and virus exclusion have been examined using a model wherein HBsAgspecific CTL are injected into HBsAg transgenic (Tg) mice. The importance of the role of TNFin virus exclusion was shown, but its role in liver injury was unclear. We crossed the TNFknockout mouse and HBsAg-Tg mouse to establish the HBsAgTg/TNFKO mouse, and examined the in...

UNLABELLED Pegylated interferon alfa-2a (PEG-IFN) may induce sustained virological response (SVR) in 20% of hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-negative chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients. In addition, loss of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) is achieved with a 10% yearly rate after treatment cessation in sustained responders. The aim of this study was to assess on-treatment serum HBsAg kinetics t...

People with HIV/HBsAg in India frequently encounter discrimination while seeking and receiving health care services. The knowledge and attitudes of health care workers (HCWs) influences the willingness and ability of people with HIV/HBsAg to access care, and the quality of the care they receive. The objective of this study was to asses HIV/HBsAg-related knowledge, attitudes and risk perception ...

Serum samples from 356 HBsAg positive asymptomatic carriers, which were titrated by reverse passive hemagglutination, were analysed for the presence of HBV-DNA, HBsAg and IgM anti-HBc. The samples were divided in three classes, according to the titers of HBsAg and IgM anti-HBc and the distribution of HBV-DNA and HBsAg among these classes was studied. In the high titer class of HBsAg, 65% of sam...

Tobacco plants were genetically transformed with the gene encoding hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) linked to a nominally constitutive promoter. Enzyme-linked immunoassays using a monoclonal antibody directed against human serum-derived HBsAg revealed the presence of HBsAg in extracts of transformed leaves at levels that correlated with mRNA abundance. This suggests that there were no major ...

Abstract Introduction The presence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) surface antigen (HBsAg) in serum is the hallmark of HBV infection, and qualitative tests for its detection have been used since 1969. Recently, HBsAg quantification has been applied for monitoring chronic HBV infection during its natural history as well as for the prediction of the response to treatment. As HBsAg titres are becoming ...

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is considered as a global health concern and hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) is the most immunogenic protein of HBV. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the expression of HBsAg on the cell surface of human embryonic kidney cell line (HEK293T). After transformation of expression vector pcDNA/HBsAg to E.coli TOP10F', plasmid was extracted and digested with BglII....