Efficacy of immunization of high-risk infants against hepatitis B virus evaluated by polymerase chain reaction
✍ Scribed by Matsumoto, Takehiro; Nakata, Keisuke; Hamasaki, Keisuke; Daikokoku, Manabu; Nakao, Kazuhiko; Yamashita, Yoshifumi; Shirahama, Satoshi; Kato, Yuji
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1997
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 66 KB
- Volume
- 53
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0146-6615
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
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. Twentynine 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°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 wildtype 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.