TY - JOUR
T1 - Distinct patterns of serum hepatitis B core-related antigen during the natural history of chronic hepatitis B
AU - Zhang, Zhan-Qing
AU - Zhang, Xiao-Nan
AU - Lu, Wei
AU - Wang, Yan-Bing
AU - Weng, Qi-Cheng
AU - Feng, Yan-Ling
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the “12th Five-year” National Science and Technology Major Project of China (2013ZX10002005), National Natural Science Foundation (81671998), Shanghai Science and Technology Commission (16411960100) and key scientific research project of Shanghai municipal health and Family Planning Commission (20134032). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 The Author(s).
PY - 2017/12/4
Y1 - 2017/12/4
N2 - BACKGROUND: The current clinical practice on chronic hepatitis B (CHB) requires better on-treatment monitoring of viral persistence. Quantified assays for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and core-related antigen (HBcrAg) hold promise for further optimization of therapy. Here, we aimed to characterize HBcrAg during the natural course of CHB.METHODS: Four-hundred and forty four treatment naïve CHB patients, who all underwent liver histology examination, were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Their HBV DNA, HBsAg, HBeAg and HBcrAg titres were quantified and analyzed in the context of four distinct clinical phases. Correlation of HBcrAg and HBsAg with other markers were performed. The relationship between liver and serum antigen levels were also assessed.RESULTS: HBcrAg, like HBsAg, exhibited high degree of correlation with HBV DNA. However, a more significant linear relationship was found between HBcrAg and HBeAg titre in immune tolerant (IT) and immune clearance (IC) phases, while in HBeAg negative hepatitis (ENH) group, HBV DNA is a major determinant of HBcrAg. Significant difference was observed in liver HBcAg score and HBcrAg level in both IT and IC phases whereas barely significant positive correlations between liver HBsAg score and HBsAg titre was documented.CONCLUSION: HBcrAg titre exhibited distinct correlative profile in a phase-specific manner. In addition, its level is well-related to the intrahepatic expression of core antigen. It has a considerable utility in monitoring and refining antiviral therapy.
AB - BACKGROUND: The current clinical practice on chronic hepatitis B (CHB) requires better on-treatment monitoring of viral persistence. Quantified assays for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and core-related antigen (HBcrAg) hold promise for further optimization of therapy. Here, we aimed to characterize HBcrAg during the natural course of CHB.METHODS: Four-hundred and forty four treatment naïve CHB patients, who all underwent liver histology examination, were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Their HBV DNA, HBsAg, HBeAg and HBcrAg titres were quantified and analyzed in the context of four distinct clinical phases. Correlation of HBcrAg and HBsAg with other markers were performed. The relationship between liver and serum antigen levels were also assessed.RESULTS: HBcrAg, like HBsAg, exhibited high degree of correlation with HBV DNA. However, a more significant linear relationship was found between HBcrAg and HBeAg titre in immune tolerant (IT) and immune clearance (IC) phases, while in HBeAg negative hepatitis (ENH) group, HBV DNA is a major determinant of HBcrAg. Significant difference was observed in liver HBcAg score and HBcrAg level in both IT and IC phases whereas barely significant positive correlations between liver HBsAg score and HBsAg titre was documented.CONCLUSION: HBcrAg titre exhibited distinct correlative profile in a phase-specific manner. In addition, its level is well-related to the intrahepatic expression of core antigen. It has a considerable utility in monitoring and refining antiviral therapy.
KW - Adult
KW - Antiviral Agents/therapeutic use
KW - Biomarkers/blood
KW - Cross-Sectional Studies
KW - DNA, Viral/blood
KW - Female
KW - Hepatitis B/genetics
KW - Hepatitis B Core Antigens/blood
KW - Hepatitis B Surface Antigens/blood
KW - Hepatitis B e Antigens/blood
KW - Hepatitis B, Chronic/blood
KW - Humans
KW - Linear Models
KW - Liver/metabolism
KW - Male
KW - Viral Load
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85037369240&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1186/s12876-017-0703-9
DO - 10.1186/s12876-017-0703-9
M3 - Article
C2 - 29202690
SN - 1471-230X
VL - 17
SP - 140
JO - BMC Gastroenterology
JF - BMC Gastroenterology
IS - 1
ER -
