Sequential studies of pre-S2 antigenemia and anti-pre-S2 antibodies in relation to viral replication in acute hepatitis B followed from the early incubation phase
✍ Scribed by Javier Brahm; Sandro Vento; Elio G. Rondanelli; Sergio Ranieri; Elizabeth A. Fagan; Roger Williams; Professor Adrian L. W. F. Eddleston
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1988
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 268 KB
- Volume
- 24
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0146-6615
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✦ Synopsis
To determine the time sequence of expression of pre-S2 peptide (1 2C150) during the presymptomatic phase of acute hepatitis B, we used a monoclonal antibody radioimmunoassay in five subjects followed from 30 to 70 days before the onset of liver damage. Pre-S2 peptide was present in serum at low levels from the early incubation phase and started to increase immediately after the first detection of HBV-DNA in serum, in parallel with the increase in HBsAg levels. During the symptomatic phase, levels of pre-S2 peptide dedined rapidly; it was no longer detectable after recovery. Anti-pre-S2 antibodies were detected, in four patients, only in the recovery phase. These results demonstrate that expression of pre-S2 peptide occurs very early in the incubation phase of acute HBV infection and is cleared in parallel with HBsAg.
Anti-pre-S2 antibodies seem to play no role in viral clearance in these patients.