The envelope protein of hepatitis B virus (HBV) is referred to as the HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) (8). The antigenic “a” determinant is located from residue 124 to 147 of HBsAg and is involved in eliciting antibody production. Neutralizing antibodies (anti-HBs) target the “a” determinant and generally lead to the disappearance of HBV (1). The coexistence of HBsAg and anti-HBs has been associate...

BACKGROUND & AIMS We investigated the efficacy of entecavir, a cyclopentyl guanosine nucleoside analogue, as monoprophylaxis in patients with chronic hepatitis B who received a liver transplant. METHODS We studied data from 80 consecutive patients who received a liver transplant (47 from living donors and 33 from deceased donors) for hepatitis B-related disease and entecavir monotherapy as pr...

OBJECTIVES Persistent hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. The HIV epidemic has the potential to affect its biology. Immunisation protocols established in the pre-HIV era are based upon data showing predominantly horizontal infant transmission. This study aimed to determine whether HIV co-infection will change the epidemiology of H...

BACKGROUND Hepatitis B infections, characterized by the presence of a viral genome without detectable hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg; Occult hepatitis B infection [OBI]), have been reported recently. OBJECTIVES We performed serological and molecular characterization of OBI among blood donors at Jiangsu province blood center during years 2013 and 2014. METHODS All donor samples were rout...

UNLABELLED The kinetics of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) levels preceding spontaneous HBsAg seroclearance has not been fully investigated. The kinetics of HBsAg and hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA of 203 treatment-naïve, hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-negative patients with spontaneous HBsAg seroclearance were compared with 203 age- and sex-matched HBeAg-negative controls. Serum samples at 3 y...

AIM To investigate the characteristic features of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) seroclearance among Korean hepatitis B virus (HBV) carriers. METHODS Carriers with HBsAg seroclearance were selected by analyzing longitudinal data collected from 2003 to 2015. The period of time from enrollment to the negative conversion of HBsAg (HBsAg-NC) was compared by stratifying various factors, inclu...

CONTEXT Occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) status (OHBS) is simply defined as the presence of HBV DNA in the liver (with or without detectable HBV DNA in the serum), in the absence of serum HBV surface antigen (HBsAg). Importance of OHBS is mostly clinical, related to its possible role in spreading through blood transfusion and liver transplantation; causing classic forms of HBV. Mechanisms underly...

Methods A cross-sectional prevalence and analytic study were realized. Risk factors, HIV or HCV co-infections, antiretroviral therapy (ART) experience, HBsAg, HBeAg, HBV viral load and mutations genetic analysis were collected; CD4+ cells count from HIV co-infected patients and HIV viral load were measured. We calculated the prevalence and exact 95% binomial confidence interval as well the Odds...

abstract       background and objective: hepatitis b virus (hbv) is a dna virus with high tendency toward hepatic tissue. there are currently about 3 million hbv-infected people and 350 to 400 million chronic carriers of this virus in the world. x protein plays a role in the over-expression of oncogenes, carcinogenicity of liver cells and overlaps with the basal core promoter of the virus. muta...

BACKGROUND Possible serologic activity after hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) seroclearance documented by conventional assays in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) has not been thoroughly investigated. METHODS We determined the levels of serum hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA, hepatitis B core-related antigen (HBcrAg), and linearized HBsAg (CLEIA prototype) in 329 CHB patients (72.0% male) after HBsAg s...