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Antibodies to translation products of the pre‐S1 and pre‐S2 regions of the envelope gene of hepatitis B virus in fulminant hepatitis B
Author(s) -
Ise Iku,
Tsuda Fumio,
Aihara Shinobu,
Machida Atsuhiko,
Takai Emiko,
Miyamoto Hideaki,
Akahane Yoshihiro,
Miyakawa Yuzo,
Mayumi Makoto
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
hepatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.488
H-Index - 361
eISSN - 1527-3350
pISSN - 0270-9139
DOI - 10.1002/hep.1840080518
Subject(s) - fulminant hepatitis , hbsag , antibody , fulminant , hepatitis b virus , virology , medicine , fulminant hepatic failure , immunology , hepatitis b , hepatitis , virus , hepatitis a , liver transplantation , transplantation
Sera from 11 patients with fulminant hepatitis B were tested for antibodies to translation products of the pre‐S1 and pre‐S2 regions of hepatitis B virus of IgM, IgA and IgG classes, as well as of IgA1, IgA2 and SIgA, with solid‐phase enzyme immunoassays using native viral polypeptides. Antibodies to pre‐S1 region product of IgM and/or IgA class were detected invariably in six patients who still had detectable hepatitis B surface antigen in serum at the time of clinical presentation. The remaining five patients who had lost HBsAg at presentation had antibodies to pre‐S region products of various immunoglobulin classes in higher titers. The five patients with fulminant hepatitis without HBsAg had higher levels of IgA antibodies to pre‐S region products than the seven patients with nonfulminant acute hepatitis B who had lost HBsAg: IgA antibody to pre‐S1 region product (75.6 ± 63.8 vs. 2.9 ± 3.2, p < 0.01) and IgA antibody to pre‐S2 region product (28.9 ± 25.3 vs. 4.2 ± 6.9, p < 0.01). IgA antibodies to pre‐S1 and pre‐S2 region products were invariably polymeric in fulminant hepatitis B. These findings are compatible with the hypothesis that a heightened humoral antibody response to pre‐S1 and pre‐S2 region products occurs early during the course of fulminant hepatitis B, participating in severe hepatic injury and early clearance of virus characteristic of this disease.