Hepatitis B virus e antigen (HBeAg) may have a negative effect on dendritic cell generation

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) continues to be a serious worldwide health problem despite the use of protective HBV vaccines and therapeutic regimens against chronic HBV infection. Chronic HBV patients cannot induce sufficient immune responses against the virus. HBV and its antigens are believed to suppress immune responses during chronic infection. Hence, studying the role of HBV in immune suppression is very important for the development of alternative therapeutic strategies for HBV infections.     

IL-12A、IL-1B、IL-17A单核苷酸多态性与慢性乙型肝炎恩替卡韦治疗HBeAg血清学转换的遗传关联研究

目的 通过遗传关联研究观察慢性HBV感染免疫相关重要细胞因子IL-12、IL-1B、IL-17的基因多态性与恩替卡韦抗病毒治疗HBeAg血清学转换之间的关联.方法 对109例恩替卡韦抗病毒治疗的HBeAg阳性慢性乙型肝炎患者每3个月进行肝功能、乙肝标志物、HBV DNA检测,进行HBeAg血清学转换评估,治疗24个月时的应答情况作为判定应答与否的标准.发生HBeAg血清学转换者为应答组;未发生HBeAg血清学转换者为无应答组;分析IL-12A rs568408、IL-1 B rs1143623、IL-17Ars8193036基因型与HBeAg血清学转换之间的关联.结果 29例获得HBeAg血清学转换(应答组),80例未获得HBeAg血清学转换(无应答组),总体应答率26.6％.IL-12A rs568408与HBeAg血清学转换显著相关,GA基因型发生HBeAg血清转换的易感性显著高于GG基因型[OR =3.72(1.34～10.32),P=0.012].未发现IL-1B rs1143623[OR=1.99 (0.72 ～5.44),P=0.17]和IL-17Ars8193036 [OR=1.54 (0.32 ～7.33),P=0.60]与HBeAg血清学转换存在关联.结论 IL-12Ars568408与慢性乙型肝炎恩替卡韦治疗HBeAg血清学转换存在关联.     

乙型肝炎病毒 B、C 基因型与临床表现

目的：研究广东地区乙型肝炎病毒基因型分布情况,B、C 基因型与乙型肝炎患者临床表现之间的关系。方法：回顾性分析172例慢性乙型肝炎病毒患者[慢性乙型病毒性肝炎（CHB）、乙型肝炎后肝硬化（LC）、原发性肝癌（HCC）]的乙型肝炎病毒基因分型结果,并根据基因分型结果进行分组,比较 B、C基因型患者的临床表现、HBeAg 定性、HBV-DNA 定量、ALT 及 AST 结果。结果：172例患者的乙肝病毒型分别为 B 型94例（54.7％）、C 型69例（40.1％）、D 型3例（1.7％）、未分型6例（3.5％）;C 型在 LC 组、HCC组中的比例与 CHB 组比较,差异有统计学意义（P﹤0.05）;C 型的 HBeAg 阳性率高于 B 型（P﹤0.05）;B、C型两组的 ALT、AST 差异有显著统计学意义（P﹤0.01）;两组基因型间 HBV-DNA 水平的差异无统计学意义（P﹥0.05）。结论：广东地区 HBV 感染以 B、C 基因型为主,以 B 型居高;C 基因型肝功能损害更严重,发展为肝硬化、肝癌的可能性更大,感染不同 HBV 基因型与 HBV-DNA 水平无明显相关。     

Prevention of perinatal hepatitis B transmission in Haimen City,China: Results of a community public health initiative

In regions where hepatitis B virus (HBV) is endemic, perinatal transmission is common. Infected newborns have a 90% chance of developing chronic HBV infection, and 1 in 4 will die prematurely from HBV-related liver disease. In 2010, the Hepatitis B Foundation and the Haimen City CDC launched the Gateway to Care campaign in Haimen City, China to improve awareness, prevention, and control of HBV infection citywide. The campaign included efforts to prevent perinatal HBV transmission by screening all pregnant women for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), following those who tested positive, and administering immunoprophylaxis to their newborns at birth. Of 5407 pregnant women screened, 185 were confirmed HBsAg-positive and followed until delivery. At age one, 175 babies were available for follow up testing. Of those, 137 tested negative for HBsAg and positive for antibodies to HBsAg, indicating protection. An additional 34 HBsAg-negative babies also tested negative for antibodies to HBsAg or had indeterminate test results, were considered to have had inadequate immune responses to the vaccine, and were given a booster dose. A higher prevalence of nonresponse to HBV vaccine was observed among babies born to hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive mothers and mothers with high HBV DNA titers. The remaining 4 babies tested positive for HBsAg and negative for antibodies, indicative of active HBV infection. The mothers of all 4 had viral loads ≥8 × 10⁶ copies/ml in the third trimester. Although inadequate response or nonresponse to HBV vaccine was more common among babies born to HBeAg-positive and/or high viral load mothers, these risk factors did not completely predict nonresponsiveness. All babies born to HBV-infected mothers should be tested upon completion of the vaccine series to ascertain adequate protection. Some babies of HBeAg-positive mothers with high viral load may still become HBV infected despite timely immunoprophylaxis with HBV vaccine and HBIG.     

HBsAg和HBeAg临界值指数与PreS1-Ag相关性及应用价值的探讨

目的分析HBsAg和HBeAg临界值指数(COI)的相关性及其与PreS1-Ag阳性率的关系,为探讨有效的HBV筛查和检测提供依据。方法电化学发光法检测500例HBsAg阳性标本,测其HBsAg和HBeAg的COI,按照HBeAg的阴阳性及HBsAg COI的大小进行分组,采用卡方检验分别分析比较HBsAg COI和HBeAg COI大小的关系及其与PreS1-Ag的相关性。结果 HBeAg与HBsAg的COI大小呈负相关,差异有统计学意义(χ2=20.788,P<0.05);HBeAg阳性组,HBsAg的COI大小与PreS1-Ag差异无统计学意义;HBeAg阴性组,HBsAg的COI<1000组PreS1-Ag阳性率明显低于COI>1000组(χ2=55.816,P<0.05);HBeAg阳性组与阴性组PreS1Ag阳性率差异有统计学意义(χ2=40.28,P<0.05)。结论 HBeAg与PreS1-Ag有很好的相关性,可作为急性乙型肝炎辅助诊断和预后的指标,当HBeAg阴性时,HBsAg的COI可以作为HBsAg含量的初步判断指标,且在一定范围内,COI高可以作为乙型肝炎感染急性期的一个指征。     

乙型肝炎病毒e抗原结合蛋白2原核表达载体的构建及诱导表达

目的体外构建乙型肝炎病毒e抗原结合蛋白2原核表达载体并观察其表达情况。方法以含有HBEBP2全长序列的质粒为模板，通过PCR扩增获得HBEBP2基因片段，将HBEBP2连接到pGEM-T载体，在测序证实正确后将其插入至原核表达载体pET-32a（＋）中，转化BL21大肠埃希菌，经IPTG诱导，并通过SDS-PAGE和Westernblot分析鉴定融合蛋白的表达。结果扩增获得的HBEBP2基因片断被成功构建到大肠埃希菌原核表达载体中。经IPTG诱导，得到了融合蛋白的表达，经Westernblot分析证实其分子量为34kD，具有抗原性。结论体外成功表达HBEBP2蛋白，为进一步研究HBEBP2蛋白的免疫原性和生物学特性奠定了基础。