Abstract
We studied hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA in liver and serum as well as serum pre-S2Ag in 17 patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB), who were treated with interferon (IFN). Liver biopsy specimens were obtained immediately prior to the administration of IFN and within one week following the termination of IFN. HBV DNA in liver was studied by Southern blot hybridization. Before treatment, hepatic HBV DNA were positive with various replicative forms in all but 2 patients. After treatment, hepatic HBV DNA became negative in 4 patients and decreased in the remaining 8. In 2 of the 8 patients, only supercoiled form of HBV DNA remained. Six of these 17 patients were followed for up to 12 months after the end of treatment. In 3 of the 6 patients who remained all replicative forms of HBV DNA in liver after treatment, serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels remained elevated. In one patient who remained only SC form of HBV DNA and 2 patients who lost all replicative forms of HBV DNA in liver, ALT levels normalized. In the latter 2 patients, however, ALT levels became elevated with positive HBV markers in serum. These findings suggest that loss of HBV DNA in liver result in ALT normalization and SC form of HBV DNA is the last form to disappear after IFN treatment. Pre-S2Ag is an useful marker in predicting the long-term prognosis of CHB.
