The particulate hepatitis core protein (HBcAg) represents an efficient carrier platform with many of the characteristics uniquely required for the delivery of weak immunogens to the immune system. Although the HBcAg is highly immunogenic, the existing HBcAg-based platform technology has a number of theoretical and practical limitations, most notably the "preexisting immunity" and "assembly" pro...

HBV DNA in viral particles in serum is covered by a coat of hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg) particles and a lipid coat with hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in it. Removal of the HBcAg and the HBsAg with the lipid coat can be easily accomplished by treatment with a detergent or alkali. However, there are many inhibitors of the PCR reaction in the serum. Deproteinization removes most of thes...

Hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg) was prepared from human liver tissue and used in an immunoelectro-osmophoresis screening test to detect antibody to HBcAg (anti-HBc) in patients with evidence of liver disease and in blood donors. With the exception of two immunosuppressed HBsAg carriers, anti-HBc was found in all cases of hepatitis B infection even when HBsAg was detectable only by radioimmunoa...

Eighteen liver biopsy specimens from patients with hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) positive chronic aggressive hepatitis were studied by electron microscopy. All cases were selected on the basis of positive liver cell membrane fluorescence for HBsAg on immunohistochemical investigation. Striking changes in the morphology of the liver cell membrane were observed in nearly all cases. Furtherm...

Hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg) was prepared from human liver tissue and used in an immunoelectro-osmophoresis screening test to detect antibody to HBcAg (anti-HBc) in patients with evidence of liver disease and in blood donors. With the exception of two immunosuppressed HBsAg carriers, anti-HBc was found in all cases of hepatitis B infection even when HBsAg was detectable only by radioimmunoa...

AIM To investigate the expression and distribution of HBV in the ovaries and ova. METHODS The immunohistochemistry method was used to detect the HBsAg and HBcAg in the ovaries of patients with chronic hepatitis B. RESULTS Expression of HBsAg in the ova, granular and interstitial cells of the ovaries was located in the cytomembrane and cytoplasm. Expression of HBcAg in the ova, granular, int...

The role of active hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in chronic HBsAg positive hepatitis with and without hepatitis delta virus (HDV) superinfection was analysed in percutaneous liver biopsy specimens from 50 patients. Each specimen was divided into two--one part for histological evaluation and for the detection of HBcAg and delta antigen; the other part was tested for HBV-DNA using Southern bl...

AIMS To determine how chronic hepatitis D virus (HDV) infection affects intrahepatic hepatitis B virus (HBV) antigen expression. METHODS Ninety eight liver biopsy specimens from 68 patients seropositive for total antibody to HDV were studied by immunohistochemistry, and the amount of HBV antigens was also quantified by radioimmunoassay in 12 patients and compared with 30 patients with chronic...

Asymptomatic blood donors with persistent HBs antigenaemia have a variety of histological lesions in the liver, and serial biopsies indicate that, in some, these lesions may progress. The immunoperoxidase technique was found to be a sensitive method for the histological demonstration of HBsAg and HBcAg. Livers showing minor histological changes contained more HBsAg than those with active lesion...