Efficacy of immunization of high-risk infants against hepatitis B virus evaluated by polymerase chain reaction.
The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a rapid and very sensitive method to detect viral genomes. In the present study, the efficacy of immunization against hepatitis B virus (HBV) of high-risk infants was evaluated by PCR. Twenty-nine infants born to 24 HBeAg-positive carrier mothers were given hepatitis B immune globulin (HBIG) at birth and thereafter received repeated inoculations of plasma-derived vaccine or HBIG, or both, within 1 year. Serum samples at 1 year following immunization were stored at -40 degrees C for later analysis using PCR to detect HBV-DNA. When HBV genomes were detected in infants, the DNA sequences in the S gene of HBV were determined. Of 29 infants, 2 were positive for HBV-DNA at the 1 year following immunization; one had the HBV containing only the wild-type sequence in the S gene and became negative for HBV-DNA during the follow-up period. In contrast, another had the HBV, which contained nucleotide substitutions that altered the expression of the common group-specific determinant "a" of the S gene and resulted in clinical hepatitis with viral persistence. PCR analysis suggests that immunization against HBV prevents effectively high-risk infants from mother-to-child transmission. Even then, however, it is possible that amino acid substitutions in the "a" determinant of the S gene are associated with failure of conventional immunization against HBV.
Matsumoto
T
T
First Department of Internal Medicine, Nagasaki University School of Medicine, Japan.
Nakata
K
K
Hamasaki
K
K
Daikokoku
M
M
Nakao
K
K
Yamashita
Y
Y
Shirahama
S
S
Kato
Y
Y
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D004279:DNA, Viral; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D005814:Genes, Viral; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000635:transmission; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics; D017325:Hepatitis B Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007114:Immunization; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D018445:Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D012307:Risk Factors
D004279:DNA, Viral; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens; D017325:Hepatitis B Vaccines