Hepatitis B "e" antigen: an apparent association with lactate dehydrogenase isozyme-5.
Serums containing the "e" antigen of hepatitis B virus were subjected to electrophoresis in polyacrylamide gel. An extra band appeared in the lactate dehydrogenase isozyme pattern, but this band was undetectable in serums containing antibodies to the e antigenic determinant. Prior separation of the lactate dehydrogenase isozyme-5 fraction by chromatography of serum on minicolumns of diethylaminoethyl-Sephadex-A50 improved electrophoretic identification of the extra band. Neutralization with antibodies to the e antigen as well as by antibodies to the homologous d or y component of the hepatitis B surface antigen removed the extra band; antibodies to the lactate dehydrogenase isozyme-5 removed both the normal and the extra enzymatic band of isozyme-5. This feature of the e antigen provides an assay system for laboratory diagnosis of potential clinical usefulness and suggests its possible role in pathogenesis of hepatocellular injury.
D000918:Antibody Specificity; D000937:Antigen-Antibody Reactions; D000939:Epitopes; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000175:diagnosis; D006510:Hepatitis B Antibodies; D006511:Hepatitis B Antigens / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D007527:Isoenzymes; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D012698:Serologic Tests
D000939:Epitopes; D006510:Hepatitis B Antibodies; D006511:Hepatitis B Antigens; D007527:Isoenzymes; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase