BACKGROUND Hepatitis B virus (HBV) has been determined to exist in semen and male germ cells from patients with chronic HBV infection, but no data are yet available on the impact of HBV S protein (HBs), the main component of HBV envelop protein, on the human reproductive system. The purpose of this article was to investigate the effect of HBs on human sperm function. METHODS Sperm motility an...

Hemoglobins (Hbs) corresponding to non-symbiotic (nsHb) and truncated (tHb) Hbs have been identified in rice ( Oryza). This review discusses the major findings from the current studies on rice Hbs. At the molecular level, a family of the nshb genes, consisting of hb1, hb2, hb3, hb4 and hb5, and a single copy of the thb gene exist in Oryza sativa var. indica and O. sativa var. japonica, Hb trans...

The antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen (anti-HBs) seropositivity rate after 3 doses of hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccination during infancy period is known to be higher than 90%. However, a considerable number of vaccines do not form protective anti-HBs or chronologic decrease of anti-HBs. We retrospectively collected data of HBV serologic test results in 20,738 individuals from 2000 to 2015...

Thermal stabilities of chicken, grey lag goose (Anser anser), turkey as avian hemoglobins (Hbs); and human, bovine, sheep and horse as mammalian Hbs in hemolysate form were investigated and compared with oxygen affinities taken from literature. The thermal stability was obtained from thermal profiles using temperature scanning spectrophotometry. The buffer conditions were 50 mM Tris, pH 7.2, an...

The mutant hemoglobin S (HbS) previously was reported to undergo accelerated autooxidation during incubation in vitro. However, subsequent observations have raised the possibility that this might be explained by adventitious association of molecular iron with HbS, rather than reflecting an inherent property of HbS. Using purified HbA and HbS obtained from genotypic HbAS donors, we found that th...

We previously reported that circulating hemoglobin (Hb) CC erythrocytes contain oxygenated HbC crystals with little or no HbF and that HbF inhibits in vitro crystallization of HbC. We now report that HbS accelerates in vitro crystallization of HbC. Crystals were formed in 1.8 mol/L potassium phosphate buffer, pH 7.4, at 30 degrees C and were counted in several time intervals with a hematocytome...

OBJECTIVE The Hepatitis B virus genome persists in the nucleus of virus infected hepatocytes where it serves as template for viral mRNA synthesis. Epigenetic modifications, including methylation of the CpG islands contribute to the regulation of viral gene expression. The present study investigates the effects of spontaneous age dependent loss of hepatitis B surface protein- (HBs) expression du...

INTRODUCTION Bacterial or viral diseases are one of the major causes of death in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). These patients show a quantitative reduction of levels of antibodies over time. Among the infectious diseases that affect CKD patients, stands out hepatitis B (HB). Immunization and control of antibodies levels against the hepatitis B surface antigen (anti-HBs) are ways t...