objective(s): it has been reported that the mutation of the pre-core (pc) and basal-core promoter (bcp) may play an important role in the development of hbv-related hepatocellular carcinoma (hcc). in this study the pc and bcp mutations were investigated in chronic hbv patients. materials and methods:in this study, 120 chronic hbv patients from golestan, northeast of iran who were not vaccinated...

BACKGROUND The coexistence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and antibodies to HBsAg (anti-HBs) in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection has been explained by the presence of viral escape mutants. Yet, no systematic analysis of such patients has been performed. We analyzed both the HBV strains and the nature of anti-HBs in such patients. METHODS Four hundred eleven pati...

BACKGROUND/AIM Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) mutations play a role in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the association between HBV polymerase gene mutations and HCC has not been reported. In this study, we conducted a multi-stage study to identify HCC-related mutations in the reverse transcriptase (RT) domain of the HBV polymerase gene. METHODS A total of 231 HCCs and 237...

OBJECTIVES The study was designed to characterize the surface, core promoter, precore/core region sequences for the presence of mutations in hepatitis B virus (HBV) associated with different liver diseases. METHODS 567 HBV associated patients with different liver diseases were enrolled in this study. All samples were analyzed for HBV surface, core promoter, precore/core region mutations and g...

result, it has a much higher error rate than DNA viral transcriptases, as it replicates through a RNA intermediate. HBV DNA is thus often present in quasi-species in an individual. One or more species may be favourably selected by factors such as host immune clearance and use of antiviral drugs.1 HBV variation plays an important role in HBV genotypes and drug-resistant mutations. It is clinical...

BACKGROUND AND AIM Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common liver cancer. We characterised HCC associated with infection compared with non-HBV-related HCC to understand interactions between viral and hepatocyte genomic alterations and their relationships with clinical features. METHODS Frozen HBV (n=86) or non-HBV-related (n=90) HCC were collected in two French surgical departments. ...

Occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is defined as presence of HBV DNA in the liver regardless of serum HBV DNA detectability in HBsAg-negative patients. Occult HBV infection is not uncommon in Korea because the prevalence of occult HBV infection depends on the HBsAg carrier rate. The underlying mechanisms for occult HBV infection is not fully understood yet, but both viral and host factors...

BACKGROUND Most mutations in the reverse transcriptase (RT) gene of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) are related to resistance to antiviral agents. Cross-sectional studies on the mutations of this gene are rare. Thus, we analyzed the mutation patterns of RT genes and their biochemical parameters. METHODS From 2009 to 2012, 301 blood specimens from patients with chronic hepatitis B at Daegu Catholi...

The presence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA in HBV surface antigen (HBsAg)-negative individuals is defined as occult HBV infection (OBI). OBI is related in some cases to infection with variant viruses (S-escape mutants) undetectable by HBsAg commercial kits. More frequently, however, it is due to infection with wild-type viruses that are strongly suppressed in their replication activity. OBI ma...

BACKGROUND The association between hepatitis B virus (HBV) mutations and hepatocarcinogenesis remains controversial because of conflicting data in the literature. We conducted a meta-analysis of case-control and cohort studies to examine HBV PreS, enhancer II (EnhII), basal core promoter (BCP), and precore mutations in relation to the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS We searche...