The performance of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) screening assays is continuously improved to reduce the risk of transfusion-associated hepatitis B. In this study, a semiautomated immune complex transfer chemiluminescence enzyme immunoassay (ICT-CLEIA) for the detection of HBsAg, which is as sensitive as hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA PCR, was developed; the ICT-CLEIA assay performance was c...

The profit to be gained by testing Danish blood donors for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) with a third generation technique instead of the currently used immunoelectrophoresis was investigated by additional screening of 48 750 blood units by radioimmunoassay three weeks after donation. Twenty nine units were positive for HBsAg on radioimmunoassay (0.059%). Only six of these were found by i...

In a cross-sectional study, 200 subjects attending the Association for Reproductive Family and Health (AFRH) Centre in Ibadan, Nigeria were screened randomly to determine the prevalence of HbsAg among them, using conventional methods. The study showed that the prevalence of HBsAg was 7.0% (n=14). The seroprevalence of HBsAg was higher in males [5(10.2%)] than in their female counterparts [9(5.9...

The aims of the study were to estimate the clinical impact of HBV infection in pregnant immigrants and their family members and to identify a useful approach to managing the healthcare of HBsAg-positive immigrants. Included in this study were 143 HBsAg-positive pregnant immigrants of the 1,970 from countries with intermediate/high HBV endemicity who delivered in 8 Italian hospitals in 2012-2013...

INTRODUCTION This study aimed to analyze the characteristics of HBsAg, HBsAb, coexistence of HBsAg and HBsAb, and the genotypic distribution of HBV in Chinese schizophrenia patients. METHODOLOGY A total of 1,694 schizophrenia patients, 9-85 years of age, were recruited for the present study. HBsAg, HBsAb, and HBV DNA were detected with commercial methods. ALT, AST, γ-GT, TBIL, and IBIL were m...

BACKGROUND Spontaneous delayed clearance of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in patients with chronic HBV infection is a rare event. The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence of delayed clearance of serum HBsAg in chronic HBV infection and to determine the characteristics and clinical outcomes of HBsAg delayed clearance in Korean patients. METHODS From April 1981 to June 2003,...

BACKGROUND Based on their localization, Kupffer cells (KCs) likely interact with hepatitis B virus (HBV). However, the role of KCs in inducing immunity toward HBV is poorly understood. Therefore, the interaction of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and KCs, and possible functional consequences, were assessed. METHODS KCs in liver tissue from patients with chronic HBV were analyzed for prese...

Proteasome-mediated degradation of promyelocytic leukemia tumor suppressor (PML) is upregulated in many viral infections and cancers. We previously showed that PML knockdown promotes early-onset hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg)-transgenic mice. Here we report the effects of PML restoration on late-onset HBsAg-induced HCC. We compared protein expression...

BACKGROUND On-treatment decline of serum hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) may reflect the immunomodulatory effect of pegylated interferon (PEG-IFN) for hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive chronic hepatitis B (CHB). We compared HBsAg decline across HBV genotypes between combined responders (HBeAg loss and HBV DNA<10,000 copies/ml at week 78), HBeAg responders (HBeAg loss with HBV DNA>10,00...

AIM To investigate the utility of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) kinetics in chronic hepatitis B patients during long-term entecavir treatment. METHODS This retrospective study included treatment-naïve chronic hepatitis B patients who received at least 2 years of consecutive entecavir treatment. Patients were followed up at three to six month intervals with liver biochemistry, hepatitis ...