1987 Volume 84 Issue 1 Pages 45-51
Sera and biopsied liver specimens from 45 hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) carriers with or without liver diseases were examined for markers of hepatitis B virus (HBV): hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) and its corresponding antibody (anti-HBe), HBV deoxyribonucleic acid (HBV-DNA) in serum and hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg) in the liver. Their clinical features were analyzed in terms of these virological markers.
HBV-DNA in serum and HBcAg in the liver were positive in all of asymptomatic HBsAg carriers positive for HBeAg in serum, but none of those positive for serum anti-HBe. Whereas in patients with chronic liver diseases, such a concordant presence or absence of serum HBV-DNA and HBcAg in the liver according to the HBeAg/anti-HBe status was found in only 22 of 37 cases (59.6%). Of these three HBV markers, the presence of serum HBV-DNA was found to reflect most closely the serum transaminase levels in chronic liver diseases.
These results indicate that detection of serum HBV-DNA is the most sensitive parameter for HBV replication and also reflects the inflammatory activity in the liver of patients with chronic liver diseases.