In vitro production of antibody to hepatitis B core and E antigens by peripheral blood mononuclear cells in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection.
To evaluate the relative immunogenicity of and the mechanism for production of antibody to hepatitis B core (HBc) and hepatitis B e (HBe) Ag, we investigated the in vitro anti-HBc and anti-HBe production by PBMC from 25 patients with chronic active hepatitis (CAH) (15 with HBeAg and 10 with anti-HBe) and 12 ASC (5 with HBeAg and 7 with anti-HBe) in the presence of PWM, rHBcAg, or purified HBeAg. PWM-stimulated culture produced higher titer anti-HBc (mean % inhibition +/- SD = 73 +/- 23%, p less than 0.001) than anti-HBe (34 +/- 17%). HBcAg stimulation elicited greater anti-HBc response (43 +/- 26%, p less than 0.001) than did HBeAg for anti-HBe (26 +/- 12%). Both HBcAg and HBeAg induced equivalent anti-HBe response. Anti-HBc production in response to HBcAg was higher in CAH patients (51 to 55%) than in asymptomatic carriers of hepatitis B surface Ag (22 to 28%) irrespective of their HBeAg/anti-HBe status, but reflecting serum anti-HBc value. Similar findings were noted in HBeAg-stimulated anti-HBe production for the two patient groups. In HBeAg- and anti-HBe-positive CAH, HBcAG-stimulated anti-HBc production was similar in T (1.4 x 10(6)) and B (0.6 x 10(6)) cells coculture, and B cells (2 x 10(6)) alone culture. However, in the HBeAg-stimulated culture, T plus B cells produced significantly higher titer anti-HBe than B cells alone did. These results indicate that HBcAg has a relatively higher immunogenicity in terms of antibody production as compared to HBeAg. Furthermore, HBcAg was shown to function as a T cell-dependent and -independent Ag, whereas HBeAg is T cell-dependent during chronic hepatitis virus B infection in man.
Tsutsumi
Y
Y
Third Department of Internal Medicine, Nagoya University School of Medicine, Japan.
Kakumu
S
S
Wakita
T
T
Yoshioka
K
K
Ishikawa
T
T
D000917:Antibody Formation; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000276:immunology*; D006510:Hepatitis B Antibodies / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D006512:Hepatitis B Core Antigens / Q000276:immunology*; D006513:Hepatitis B e Antigens / Q000276:immunology*; D006521:Hepatitis, Chronic / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000276:immunology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology
D006510:Hepatitis B Antibodies; D006512:Hepatitis B Core Antigens; D006513:Hepatitis B e Antigens