Abstract
The aim of the study was to examine the state of hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA in liver tissue of 103 children with chronic hepatitis B aged 0.5–18 years to detect free and integrated viral sequences by Southern blot hybridization. HBV DNA was found in 74 patients. Seventy‐two were seropositive for hepatitis B e antigen (HBcAg) and two had anti‐HBe antibodies. Integrated sequences could be demonstrated in two children. One of them had only integrated HBV DNA and was anti‐HBe seropositive. The other one presented both free and integrated viral sequences and developed seroconversion from HBeAg to anti‐HBe 5 months after biopsy. In 29 hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) carriers, no HBV DNA could be detected in the liver. Ten were HBeAg and 19 anti‐HBe seropositive. HBV DNA in serum was found in 65 of the 74 Southern blot‐positive and only in two cases of the Southern blot‐negative patients. In conclusion, most of the HBeAg‐positive children had free HBV DNA in their liver tissue and all patients with anti‐HBe except one were negative. According to our results, HBV DNA integration into the liver cell genome can occur at an early stage of chronic disease but is not a frequent event.
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