title: Hepatitis B vaccination of immunosuppressed heart transplant recipients with the vaccine Hepa Gene 3 containing pre-S1, pre-S2, and S gene products.
abstract: The antibody response of immunosuppressed heart transplant recipients to vaccination with the hepatitis B (HB) virus vaccine Hepa Gene 3 (HG-3), containing HB virus pre-S1, pre-S2, and S gene products, was examined. Three heart transplant recipients who had been vaccinated preoperatively against HB responded well to the vaccination. Five of 38 patients (13.2%) vaccinated postoperatively before HG-3 vaccination with the second-generation vaccine Gen-H-B-Vax-D (37 without and 1 with detectable anti-HBs response) and 3 of 24 (12.5%) without previous HB vaccination developed protective anti-HBs titers (greater than 10 U/l) after immunization with the HG-3 vaccine. The low response rate (8/62, 12.9%) found for postoperatively vaccinated patients indicates that heart transplant recipients should be vaccinated against HB before immunosuppressive medication.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Virologie und Seuchenhygiene, Medizinische Hochschule Hannover, Germany.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wagner
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Wagenbreth
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Stachan-Kunstyr
authors.forename: H A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Thoma
authors.forename: A E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Hemmerling
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Flik
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005814:Genes, Viral; D016027:Heart Transplantation; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006510:Hepatitis B Antibodies / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000097:blood; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D017325:Hepatitis B Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology*; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007115:Immunization Schedule; D007117:Immunization, Secondary; D007165:Immunosuppression Therapy / Q000009:adverse effects; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011498:Protein Precursors / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D014611:Vaccination; D015678:Viral Structural Proteins / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: C089444:Hepa Gene 3 vaccine; D006510:Hepatitis B Antibodies; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens; D017325:Hepatitis B Vaccines; D011498:Protein Precursors; D015678:Viral Structural Proteins; C050806:presurface protein 1, hepatitis B surface antigen; C050807:presurface protein 2, hepatitis B surface antigen