title: Changes of hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg) in liver biopsies of patients with chronic active hepatitis B treated with interferon.
abstract: Data have shown that hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg) is detected in both the hepatocyte nucleus and cytoplasm. Its expression is associated with chronic hepatitis and active viral replication. The intrahepatic distribution of HBcAg was studied in liver biopsies of 14 patients with chronic active hepatitis B (CAH-B) (5 were hepatitis B e antigen [HBeAg]+/anti-HBe--, 9 were HBeAg--/anti-HBe+) by an immunohistochemical method (PAP) before and after 6-month treatment with interferon (IFN), and our findings were analyzed according to the response of patients to treatment. Our findings showed that, at the end of treatment, nuclear HBcAg was decreased or absent in 4 of 5 and cytoplasmic HBcAg in 2 of 4 HBeAg+/anti-HBe--patients, irrespective of the response to treatment. Loss of cytoplasmic expression was related to the outcome of treatment in 5 of 9 HBeAg--/anti-HBe+ patients. Four patients expressed no HBcAg before or at the end of treatment. These findings possibly reflect a different pattern of viral core antigen expression as a result of IFN therapy in the two groups of patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Vrettou
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Tzioufa
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Raptopoulou
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fragoudi
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Goulis
authors.forename: C S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Papadimitriou
mesh_terms: D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology; D006512:Hepatitis B Core Antigens / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006521:Hepatitis, Chronic / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008099:Liver / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000821:virology*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D014018:Tissue Distribution; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D006512:Hepatitis B Core Antigens; D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D011994:Recombinant Proteins