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Persistence of isolated antibodies to woodchuck hepatitis virus core antigen is indicative of occult infection
Author(s) -
Coffin Carla S.,
Pham Tram N.Q.,
Mulrooney Patricia M.,
Churchill Norma D.,
Michalak Tomasz I.
Publication year - 2004
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.20419
Subject(s) - virology , occult , antibody , persistence (discontinuity) , antigen , woodchuck hepatitis virus , medicine , immunology , virus , hepatitis b virus , biology , hepadnaviridae , pathology , alternative medicine , geotechnical engineering , engineering
Antibodies against virus nucleocapsid (anticore) normally accompany hepadnaviral hepatitis but they may also occur in the absence of symptoms and other serological indicators of the infection. This situation can be encountered following a clinically and serologically unapparent exposure to hepatitis B virus (HBV) or after recovery from hepatitis B. In this study, woodchucks inoculated with woodchuck hepatitis virus (WHV) were investigated to determine the relationship between anticore detection and the molecular status of virus replication in a primary WHV surface antigen (WHsAg)‐negative infection or long‐after resolution of WHV hepatitis. Serial, parallel samples of sera, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and liver tissue, collected for more than 5 years after inoculation with virus, were examined for WHV DNA by highly sensitive polymerase chain reaction (PCR)/nucleic acid hybridization assays. Sera were also tested for WHV DNA after DNase treatment and for WHV DNA and WHsAg after concentration in sucrose. Liver and PBMC were examined for WHV covalently closed circular DNA and viral RNA transcripts by PCR‐based techniques to assess virus replication status. The study showed that anticore antibodies existing in the absence of other serological markers are a reliable indicator of occult WHV infection. This state can be accompanied by traces of circulating particles behaving as intact virions and by intermittent minimal‐to‐mild liver inflammation. In conclusion , the long‐term presence of anticore antibodies alone is a consequence of sustained restimulation of the immune system by virus nucleocapsid produced during low‐level hepadnaviral assembly. (H EPATOLOGY 2004.)