Identifying of HBV DNA in liver tissues of chronic hepatitis and hepatocellular carcinoma to study the Hepatitis B virus silent infection in Egyptian patients

Abstract

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection comprises one of the most frequent causes of adult morbidity and mortality in Egypt. The presence of HBV genomes in the absence of HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) individuals is referred to as occult HBV infection. This study aimed to detect HBV integration in HBsAg negative chronic hepatitis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cases by extraction of DNA from tissue and serum of chronic hepatitis and HCC cases to find out the silent HBV infection. Subjects and Methods: Seventy-three patients divided into three groups; group I: included fifty-two sera samples for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients with negative HBsAg and positive HBcAb; of which fourteen liver tissues samples were taken (group I). Nine chronic hepatitis patients with negative HBsAg and positive HBcAb (group II) were studied in both liver tissue and serum sample. Twelve chronic hepatitis patients with positive HBsAg and positive HBcAb were included as a control group. DNA from those groups has been separated from tissue sections that have been mounted on glass slides. Results: The present study showed that 1/52 (1.9%) of the patients with HCC were positive for HBV DNA in the serum while all the 52 HCC patients were negative for HBV DNA in the liver tissue. Conclusion: The present showed that 1/52 (1.9%) of the patients with HCC were positive for HBV DNA in the serum. The explanation for this is the low endemicity of HBV infection in Egypt which differ HBV DNA detection process.