hepatitis b vaccination is safe and effective, although breakthrough infection occasionally occurs in those who receive the vaccine and hepatitis b immunoglobulin (hbig) prophylaxis. sequence variation in their antigenic regions is one of the most powerful strategies that are used by viruses to escape recognition by b and t cell-mediated immune responses. the aim of this study was to explore th...

abstract mutations have been described in all of the four open reading frames of the hepatitis b virus (hbv), however, from a clinical perspective the surface escape mutant is the most troublesome. hepatitis b surface antigen (hbsag) variants may impair diagnosis, or allow the virus to escape vaccine-induced immunity or passive immunoglobulin therapy. hbv mutants with amino acid substitutions, ...

Immune escape variants of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) represent an emerging clinical challenge, because they can be associated with vaccine escape, HBV reactivation, and failure of diagnostic tests. Recent data suggest a preferential selection of immune escape mutants in distinct peripheral blood leukocyte compartments of infected individuals. We therefore systematically analyzed the functional...

Background: The antibody response to hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) controls hepatitis B virus infection. The "a" determinant of HBsAg is the most important target for protective antibody response, diagnosis and immunoprophylaxis. Mutations in this area may induce immune escape mutants and affect the performance of HBsAg assays. Objectives: To construct clinically relevant recombinant muta...

BACKGROUND Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) infection is a worldwide public health problem. In the 1980's a highly effective and safe vaccine against HBV was developed, although breakthrough infection still occasionally occurs because of the emergence of escape mutants. The aim of this study was to identify HBV genotypes and escape mutants in children and their mothers in Amerindian communities of the A...

Selection of escape mutants with mutations within the target sequence could abolish the antiviral RNA interference activity. Here, we investigated the impact of a pre-existing shRNA-resistant HBV variant on the efficacy of shRNA therapy. We previously identified a highly potent shRNA, S1, which, when delivered by an adeno-associated viral vector, effectively inhibits HBV replication in HBV tran...

HIV-HBV-coinfected patients require optimal control of viral replication in order to prevent the development of severe comorbidities, such as liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The genetic diversity of HBV is a poorly investigated factor of such viral replication in HIV-infected hosts. HBV genome diversity can be differentiated into two major aspects: genotypic and phenotypic. Genoty...

HIV-HBV infected patients require optimal control of viral replication in order to prevent severe comorbidities, such as liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The genetic diversity of HBV is a poorly investigated factor of such viral replication in HIV-infected hosts. HBV genome diversity can be differentiated in two major aspects: genotypic and phenotypic. Genotypic diversity is more r...

BACKGROUND The prevalence of chronic Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) infection is 2-4% in the Pakistani population, defining Pakistan as an intermediate prevalence country. In this study, hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) reactive blood donations were screened using a combination of serological and molecular methods to identify immune escape HBV mutant strains and to determine the HBV genotypes and s...

Genotype E hepatitis B virus (HBV) was detected in two Argentine sisters exhibiting an African mitochondrial lineage. One of them (who had been vaccinated against HBV) exhibited anti-HBs cocirculating antibodies without HBsAg escape mutants, while her unvaccinated sister showed a D144A HBsAg escape mutant without anti-HBs antibodies. Both sisters carried an unusual L209V substitution within HBsAg.