Open AccessPERSISTENT HEPATITIS B VIRUS INFECTION OF MONONUCLEAR BLOOD CELLS WITHOUT CONCOMITANT LIVER INFECTION
Author(s) -
Cyrille Féray,
Zignego Al,
Didier Samuel,
A Bismuth,
M Reynès,
Pierre Tiollais,
Henri Bismuth,
Christian Bréchot
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
transplantation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.45
H-Index - 204
eISSN - 1534-6080
pISSN - 0041-1337
DOI - 10.1097/00007890-199006000-00025
Subject(s) - hbsag , peripheral blood mononuclear cell , hepatitis b virus , medicine , virology , polymerase chain reaction , virus , liver transplantation , immunology , concomitant , antibody , hepatitis b , hepatitis , biology , transplantation , gene , in vitro , biochemistry
We have investigated the recurrence of Hepatitis B virus (HBV) in 30 patients treated by orthotopic liver transplantation and given high doses of anti-HBs immunoglobulin. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay showed no evidence of HBV DNA sequences in the liver of 23/24 patients who remained serum HBsAg-negative during a mean follow-up of 13 months (2-24 months) after OLT. However, the liver scored positive in all the 6 individuals in whom HBsAG reappeared. The PCR assay identified HBV DNA sequences in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of 7 of 11 subjects who were serum HBsAG-negative and liver HBV DNA-negative by PCR. Therefore, this application of the sensitive PCR assay demonstrates persistent infection of PBMC in the absence of liver HBV--thus OLT provides a model for studying the interaction between HBV, PBMC, and the liver.