Non-A, non-B hepatitis in persistent carriers of hepatitis B virus.
There are reports in the literature that infection with hepatitis A virus in hepatitis B carriers can result in resolution of the carrier state. In an attempt to induce clearance of the carrier state of hepatitis B virus in two persistently infected chimpanzees, the chimpanzees were infused with documented non-A, non-B infectious material. Biochemical and histopathological evidence of hepatitis was accompanied by the unique abnormalities of endoplasmic reticulum associated with non-A, non-B hepatitis in the chimpanzees. Elevation of alanine aminotransferase was accompanied by fourfold reduction in one chimpanzee and sixfold reduction in the other in the plasma levels of HBV-associated DNA polymerase activity and simultaneously by twofold reduction in the concentration of hepatitis B surface antigen in both chimpanzees. A mediator may account for these changes in markers of hepatitis B virus infection, and this mechanism may also explain the occurrence of spontaneous regression in some persistently infected carriers. The significance of transient red cell anaemia in non-A, non-B hepatitis, which was observed in one of the chimpanzees, is yet to be established.
D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood; D000818:Animals; D002353:Carrier State; D004259:DNA-Directed DNA Polymerase / Q000097:blood; D004721:Endoplasmic Reticulum / Q000648:ultrastructure; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000150:complications*; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000032:analysis; D006513:Hepatitis B e Antigens / Q000032:analysis; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000150:complications*; D006525:Hepatitis, Viral, Human / Q000150:complications*; D008099:Liver / Q000648:ultrastructure; D002679:Pan troglodytes
D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens; D006513:Hepatitis B e Antigens; D000410:Alanine Transaminase; D004259:DNA-Directed DNA Polymerase