Hepatitis B virus (HBV) expresses two structural forms of the nucleoprotein, the intracellular nucleocapsid (hepatitis core antigen [HBcAg]) and the secreted nonparticulate form (hepatitis e antigen [HBeAg]). The aim of this study was to evaluate the ability of HBcAg- and HBeAg-specific genetic immunogens to induce HBc/HBeAg-specific CD4(+)/CD8(+) T-cell immune responses and the potential to in...

The woodchuck hepatitis virus is a naturally occurring hepatitis B-like virus that infects the eastern woodchuck. Direct immunofluorescence staining for woodchuck hepatitis virus core antigen in liver biopsies demonstrated the presence of this antigen in 14 of 17 chronically infected woodchucks, and in 8 of 10 woodchucks undergoing acute infections. Fluorescent localization of woodchuck hepatit...

Fulminant hepatic failure occurred in an 11 week old baby of a Caucasian mother who was hepatitis B surface antigen positive, B e antigen negative, and B e antibody positive. Infants of hepatitis B e antigen positive mothers receive immunoprophylaxis against hepatitis, unlike those born to mothers who are B e antibody positive.

To determine the prevalence of and risk factors for hepatitis B infection in rural Sudan, 2 villages in the Gezira were surveyed. There were 851 subjects (age 1-89 years; mean age 24.6 years) of equal sex distribution, 408 from Khalawaat and 443 from Saleim. HBsAg was found in 18.7%, and seropositivity for any hepatitis marker (HBsAg, anti-HBs, or anti-HBc) was found in 63.9%. The prevalence of...

Introduction. HBV genotypes and subtypes are useful clinical and epidemiological markers. In this study prevalent HBV genotypes were assessed in relation to serological profile and clinical status. Material & Methods. 107 cases of HBV were genotyped. Detailed clinical history was elicited from them. HBsAg, HBeAg, anti-HBs, anti-HBe, and anti-HBc-IgM were assessed. HBV genotyping was performed u...

We studied the effects of two xanthones compounds isolated from Swertia punicea Hemsl (from Geutianaceae), swertianolin (I) and bellidifolin (II), on Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and e antigen (HBeAg) in cultured human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line (HepG2). The HepG2 cells were first cultured for 24h, various concentrations of these two xanthones were then added to the culture mediu...

The study of Cho et al. (1) will be published in one of the upcoming issue of Gut. They compared the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma among patients with inactive HBsAg carriers (1014 patients) and antiviral initiated naive chronic active hepatitis (757 HBeAg positive and 621 HBeAg negative patients). Mean follow-up period was 42 months for both groups. Among the antiviral using group the incid...

Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) remains a global health problem. Therapeutic vaccination has been successfully employed to treat a subpopulation of CHB patients. Personalized treatment can not only improve therapeutic efficacy, but also decrease the cost of medical care. Since microRNAs (miRNAs) are highly conserved and are involved in many cellular processes, exploring their expression profiles in C...

BACKGROUND A program, supported by the GEMHEP (Groupe d'étude Moléculaire des Hépatites), was established in 2007 in the sanitary district of Tokombéré, to prevent perinatal transmission of hepatitis B virus (HBV). It comprises screening for HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) in all pregnant women and vaccinating the newborn if tests are positive. METHODS/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS 1276 women were enrolled ...

OBJECTIVE To determine the prevalence of the hepatitis B viral (HBV) infection and hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) positivity among pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in two referral hospitals in northern Uganda. DESIGN Cross-sectional observational study. SETTING Two tertiary hospitals in a postconflict region in a low-income country. PARTICIPANTS Randomly selected 402 pregnant wom...