Abstract
BackgroundHepatitis B virus (HBV) infection has many faces. Precore and core promoter mutants resemble inactive carrier status. The identification of hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg) in hepatocytes may have variable clinical significance. The present study was undertaken to detect HBcAg in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients and to assess the efficacy of detection system by indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) and indirect immunoperoxidase (IIP).Materials and methodsThe study was done in 70 chronic HBV-infected patients. Out of 70 patients, eight (11.4%) were hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) positive and 62 (88.57%) were HBeAg negative. Hepatitis B core antigen was detected by indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) and indirect immunoperoxidase (IIP) methods in liver tissue.ResultsAll HBeAg positive patients expressed HBcAg by both IIF and IIP methods. Out of 62 patients with HBeAg-negative CHB, HBcAg was detected by IIF in 55 (88.7%) patients and by IIP in 51 (82.26%) patients. A positive relation among viral load and HBcAg detection was also found. This was more evident in the case of HBeAg negative patients and showed a positive relation with HBV DNA levels.ConclusionHepatitis B core antigen can be detected using the IIF from formalin fixed paraffin block preparation and also by IIP method. This seems to reflect the magnitudes of HBV replication in CHB.How to cite this articleRaihan R, Tabassum S, Al-Mahtab M, Nessa A, Jahan M, Kabir CMS, Kamal M, Aguilar JC. Hepatitis B Core Antigen in Hepatocytes of Chronic Hepatitis B: Comparison between Indirect Immunofluorescence and Immunoperoxidase Method. Euroasian J Hepato-Gastroenterol 2015;5(1):7-10.
Highlights
Out of 62 patients with hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-negative chronic hepatitis B (CHB), hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg) was detected by indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) in 55 (88.7%) patients and by indirect immunoperoxidase (IIP) in 51 (82.26%) patients
A positive relation among viral load and HBcAg detection was found. This was more evident in the case of HBeAg negative patients and showed a positive relation with Hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA levels
Hepatitis B core antigen can be detected using the IIF from formalin fixed paraffin block preparation and by IIP method. This seems to reflect the magnitudes of HBV replication in CHB
Summary
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is one of the most common infectious diseases and the major cause of chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).[1,2,3,4] Bangladesh is a densely populated country with intermediate endemicity (2 to 7%) for chronic hepatitis B (CHB), where the lifetime risk of acquiring HBV infection is between up to 60%.5 Various studies from Bangladesh have shown that HBV is responsible for 31.25% cases of acute hepatitis, 76.3% cases of chronic hepatitis, 61.15% cases of cirrhosis of liver and 33.3% cases of HCC.[6,7,8]Euroasian Journal of Hepato-Gastroenterology, January-June 2015;5(1):[7,8,9,10]Hepatits B virus is a 42 nm particle. A significant proportion of patients with CHB are infected with the mutant HBV which decreases or abolishes the production of HBeAg due to mutation of precore or core promoter region.[10,11] Such variants, called HBeAg negative CHB, they are commonly found in Mediterranean and Asian countries.[10] Detection of circulating HBV DNA and HBcAg in liver tissues may be an indicator of active viral replication compared to HBeAg.[11,12] Both indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) and indirect immunoperoxidase (IIP) can be used to detect HBcAg in hepatocytes. The present study was undertaken to detect HBcAg in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients and to assess the efficacy of detection system by indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) and indirect immunoperoxidase (IIP)
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