Management of chronic hepatitis B in an HIV-positive patient with 3TC-resistant hepatitis B virus

Chronic viral hepatitis has emerged as one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality among HIV-positive patients. These individuals are at risk for aggressive chronic active hepatitis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma, and eventually, death. Currently available therapies for hepatitis B are limited and include interferon-alpha, lamivudine (3TC), and adefovir. Tenofovir (TDF), a recently approved drug for the treatment of HIV, is also active against hepatitis B. We report the case of a HIV-positive patient with liver cirrhosis secondary to chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) with evidence of resistance to 3TC. The patient was initially accepted as a liver transplant candidate. However, when TDF was added to his treatment, a remarkable virologic and histopathologic improvement was achieved. The patient was subsequently removed from the liver transplant program and has not suffered from any further hepatic complications.     

Treatment of hepatitis C virus in HIV-positive patients

Hepatitis C virus (HCV)-HIV coinfection currently occurs in more than 30% of HIV-positive patients in Spain. Nowadays, the treatment of choice for chronic hepatitis due to HCV infection in HIV-positive patients is pegylated interferon plus ribavirin. This combination achieves an overall cure rate of 50%, which is somewhat lower than those obtained in patients with HCV monoinfection. Adverse effects are frequent, leading to treatment withdrawal in 10-20% of patients.Importantly, there are three new features of hepatitis C in patients with HIV: (1) the recent development of epidemic outbreaks of acute hepatitis due to HCV infection in HIV-positive men caused by homosexual activity, (2) pharmacogenetic markers in the form of genetic polymorphisms near the IL28B gene related to response to HCV treatment as well as spontaneous eradication of HCV after acute infection, and (3) new antiviral molecules have allowed triple combination treatments to be designed and the preliminary results of clinical trials reporting high response rates are highly promising.     

Management of psoriasis patients with hepatitis B or hepatitis C virus infection

The systemic therapies available for the management of Psoriasis(PsO) patients who cannot be treated with more conservative options, such as topical agents and/or phototherapy, with the exception of acitretin, can worsen or reactivate a chronic infection. Therefore, before administering immunosuppressive therapies with either conventional disease-modifying drugs(c DMARDs) or biological ones(b DMARDs) it is mandatory to screen patients for some infections, including hepatitis B virus(HBV) and hepatitis C virus(HCV). In particular, the patients eligible to receive an immunosuppressive drug must be screened for the following markers: antibody to hepatitis B core, antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen(anti-HBs Ag), HBs Ag, and antibody to HCV(anti-HCV). In case HBV or HCV infection is diagnosed, a close collaboration with a consultant hepatologist is needed before and during an immunosuppressive therapy. Concerning therapy with immunosuppressive drugs in PsO patients with HBV or HCV infection, data exist mainly for cyclosporine a(Cy A) or b DMARDs(etanercept, adalimumab, infliximab, ustekinumab). The natural history of HBV and HCV infection differs significantly as well as the effect of immunosuppression on the aforementioned infectious diseases. As a rule, in the case of active HBV infection, systemic immunosuppressive antipsoriatic therapies must be deferred until the infection is controlled with an adequate antiviral treatment. Inactive carriers need to receive antiviral prophylaxis 2-4 wk before starting immunosuppressive therapy, to be continued after 6-12 mo from its suspension. Due to the risk of HBV reactivation, these patients should be monitored monthly for the first 3 mo and then every 3 mo for HBV DNA load together with transaminases levels. Concerning the patients who are occult HBV carriers, the risk of HBV reactivation is very low. Therefore, these patients generally do not need antiviral prophylaxis and the sera HBs Ag and transaminases dosing can be monitored every 3 mo. Concerning PsO patients with chronic HCV infection their management with immunosuppressive drugs is less problematic as compared to those infected by HBV.In fact, HCV reactivation is an extremely rare event after administration of drugs such as CyA or tumor necrosis factor-α inhibitors. As a rule, these patients can be monitored measuring HCV RNA load, and ALT, aspartate transaminase, gamma-glutamyl-transferase, bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase, albumin and platelet every 3-6 mo. The present article provides an updated overview based on more recently reported data on monitoring and managing PsO patients who need systemic antipsoriatic treatment and have HBV or HCV infection as comorbidity.     

Management of patients co-infected with hepatitis B virus and HIV

The management of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection poses specific problems in the presence of HIV co-infection, since therapeutic approaches have to consider both HBV and HIV infections. There are currently four drugs approved for the treatment of chronic HBV infection (interferon alpha, lamivudine, adefovir, and entecavir); the dual antiviral activity of tenofovir and emtricitabine broadens the armamentarium against HBV in HBV/HIV co-infected patients. Nucleotide analogues--eg, adefovir and tenofovir--have the advantage of a higher genetic barrier to the development of resistance compared with nucleoside analogues--eg, lamivudine and emtricitabine. Fortunately, the two families do not share resistance mutations, allowing salvage therapy and the possibility of combination therapy for drug-naive individuals. Although response to interferon alpha is poorer in HBV/HIV co-infected patients compared with HIV-negative individuals, especially in hepatitis B e antigen-negative HBV infection, the more potent pegylated forms of interferon alpha have brought new hope.     

Increased exposure to hepatitis B virus infection in HIV-positive South African antenatal women

The prevalence of markers for hepatitis B virus (HBV) exposure and active infection in HIV-positive (n=710) and HIV-negative (n=710) pregnant South African women was investigated. The following statistically significant increases in the HIV-positive group were found: anti-hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc) (37.3% versus 28.6%; odds ratio [OR]: 1.49); anti-hepatitis B surface antigen (anti-HBs) (29.5% versus 20.1%; OR: 1.66); exposure based on hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and anti-HBc (39.2% versus 30.1%; OR: 1.49); and exposure based on anti-HBs, anti-HBc and HBsAg (37.1% versus 24.5%; OR: 1.82). However, there was no increase in active HBV infections, with 2.4% of the HIV positives and 2.2% of the HIV negatives being HBV DNA positive. Although the impact that HIV has had on the prevalence of HBV in this population group is not as pronounced as that found in areas of low endemicity (where up to seven-fold increases have been reported), there is a statistically significant increased exposure to HBV.     

Genetic variation in IL28B and treatment-induced clearance of hepatitis C virus in HIV-positive patients with acute and chronic hepatitis C

Recently, a IL28B (rs 12979860) gene polymorphism was identified as a predictor for response to hepatitis C virus-specific treatment in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-uninfected and -infected patients with chronic hepatitis C. In an analysis of HIV-infected patients with acute hepatitis C, we found that the IL28B genotype was associated with serum levels of hepatitis C virus RNA, g-GT, and CD4 cell count. In contrast to HIV-infected patients with chronic hepatitis C, the IL28B genotype was not significantly associated with treatment response rates in patients with acute hepatitis C. Thus, effects of the IL28B single-nucleotide polymorphism may differ in HIV-infected patients with chronic and acute hepatitis C.     

拉米夫定耐药变异株在急性HBV感染者中的流行调查

目的:调查YMDD变异株在急性HBV感染(AHB)中的流行情况,为指导AHB的防治提供依据.方法:收集HBV感染者321例(HBV DNA≥1.0×107copies/L),其中未开始治疗的AHB患者100例和拉米夫定治疗(100 mg/d)不同时期的CHB患者221例.采集外周血标本,用荧光标记杂交双探针PCR融解曲线法(FH-PCR-MC)检测血清HBV YMDD及其变异,统计分析HBVYMDD变异在两组中的分布.结果:在AHB组,只检出HBV YMDD野生型,未检出变异型.而在CHB组,YMDD变异检出率为63.4%,其中YIDD占52.1%,YVDD占37.9%,YIDD+YVDD混合变异占10.0%:1年内、1-2年、2-3年、3-4年和4年以上疗程YMDD变异率分别为45%,66%,77%,75%和40%,YMDD变异检出率在两组中差异显著(X2=112.3,P=0.00).结论:目前在用拉米夫定治疗的CHB患者中仍有较高比率的YMDD变异株存在,但尚未发现该变异株在AHB患者中流行.     

Serum hepatitis B virus DNA detects cryptic hepatitis B virus infections in multitransfused hemophilic patients

The recognition of replicating hepatitis B virus (HBV) may be important to both define the cause of and know how to manage chronic liver disease in multitransfused hemophilic patients. Replicating HBV can be detected at the molecular level by methods for HBV-specific DNA (HBV-DNA), which are much more sensitive than the immunologic methods for detecting hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg). Unselected hemophilic patients (260; 6% with HBsAg, 4% with isolated anti-hepatitis B core (anti-HBc), 52% with anti-HBs and anti-HBc, 26% with isolated anti-HBs, and 12% with no HBV marker) were investigated retrospectively with a dot spot hybridization technique that detects serum HBV-DNA down to 0.5 pg and by Southern blot analysis, which tests the specificity of the HBV-DNA reactions. Eighteen patients (7%; five with serum HBsAg and 13 HBsAg seronegative with antibodies to HBV) had serum HBV-DNA. Serum HBV-DNA was detected more frequently in HBsAg carriers than in seronegative patients (33% versus 6%, P less than .01), and had no relationship to serum alanine aminotransferase. Serum HBV-DNA was more sensitive than the radioimmunoassay for HBeAg was for detecting replicating HBV (7% versus 1.1%, P less than .01). These findings demonstrate that there is cryptic HBV infection in a number of hemophiliacs and that serum HBV-DNA may coexist with markers thought to reflect immunity against HBV.     

Prevalence of hepatitis B virus genotype B in Vietnamese patients with chronic hepatitis B

Purpose  Hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotypes can affect treatment response to interferon-based therapy and disease outcomes in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). Little data exist to characterize HBV genotypes in Vietnamese, one of the largest minority groups in the United States and also one with one of the highest CHB and liver cancer disease burdens. The goal of this study was to compare the distribution of HBV genotypes in Vietnamese and Chinese patients. Methods  We performed a cross-sectional study of 567 consecutive patients of Vietnamese (n = 478) or Chinese (n = 89) descent, with HBV genotype mutation analysis performed between 7/2,005 and 6/2,008 at a community gastroenterology clinic and a university-affiliated liver clinic in the United States. Results  There were no significant differences between the Vietnamese and Chinese groups in mean age (45 and 44 years), gender (58% and 61% male), HBeAg status (64% and 65% negative), median alanine aminotransferase (33 and 41 U/L), and log₁₀ HBV DNA (4.9 and 5.0 log₁₀ IU/ml), or the prevalence of precore/basic core promoter mutations (72% and 71%), respectively. Vietnamese patients had a much higher prevalence of HBV genotype B and a lower prevalence of genotype C than Chinese patients: 74% and 25% vs. 55% and 43% (P = 0.001). Conclusions  Chinese patients with CHB often carry either B or C genotype. Vietnamese patients with CHB mostly have HBV genotype B. Additional studies are needed to further characterize the clinical significance of HBV genotype in the natural history and treatment outcomes of CHB in Vietnamese patients.     

Hepatitis B virus genotypes and hepatitis B surface antigen mutations in family contacts of hepatitis B virus infected patients with occult hepatitis B virus infection

Background:  The association and profile of surface gene mutations with viral genotypes have been studied in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) but not in subjects with occult HBV infection.
Aim:  This study aimed to investigate the association of surface gene mutations with viral genotypes in occult HBV infection.
Materials & Methods:  Of 293 family contacts of 90 chronic HBV index patients, 110 consented for the study. Of 110 subjects, 97 were hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) negative. HBV genotyping was done using direct DNA sequencing. The S-gene was also sequenced in 13 chronic hepatitis B patients to serve as controls.
Results:  Twenty-eight (28.8%) of the 97 subjects had occult HBV infection. Bidirectional sequencing of partial S-gene was successful in 13 of them. Seven (53.8%) of the viral sequences are genotype A1, two (15.3%) each having genotypes D5&D2 and one each (7.6%) having D1&G genotypes. Seven (53.8%) of the 13 HBsAg positive patients, had genotype D&6 (46.1%) genotype A. A128V & T143M mutations were observed in 5 of 13 (38.4%) subjects and A128V & P127S in 2 of 13 (15.3%) patients ( P  = 0.385). A128V mutation was seen in two (15.3%) subjects with D2 genotype, while T143M mutation was seen in three (23.07%) subjects with A1genotype. At aa125, three (23.07%) subjects with D5 genotype had methionine instead of threonine. There were wild type sequences in five (38.4%) subjects, one each of D1, G genotypes (20%) and four A1 (80%) genotypes. None of the subjects had G145R mutation.
Conclusions:  Occult HBV infection may be common in household contacts of chronic HBV infected patients. Equal prevalence of A&D sub-genotypes was present in occult HBV subjects and in chronic HBV patients. Mutations of the S-gene are genotype specific in both occult as well as chronic HBV infection.     

慢性乙型肝炎病毒感染的处理

最近美国著名肝病专家Keeffe教授和Schiff等其他一些教授就慢性乙型肝炎病毒(HBV)感染在临床处理中的检测方法、治疗对象、治疗时机、疗程和方法、治疗过程中如何监测病人等一系列问题提出了指导性建议,简要介绍如下。     

临床肝移植中乙型肝炎病毒的防治策略及问题

在我国施行肝移植的患者中绝大多数是乙肝病毒相关性终末性肝病,术后乙肝病毒再发和新感染能导致移植肝功能衰竭,严重影响了肝移植的疗效直至导致移植的失败。如何防止乙肝病毒的再发和新感染成为我国肝移植面临的重要课题。本文总结了国内外肝移植术前、术中、术后不同阶段的乙型肝炎病毒防治策略及存在的问题,对指导临床肝移植具有现实的意义。     

急性乙型肝炎患者乙型肝炎病毒清除的临床观察

目的探讨急性乙型肝炎患者血清乙型肝炎病毒(HBV)清除及临床转归的机制。方法动态观察29例住院急性乙型肝炎患者肝功能、HBV DNA、HBV血清标志物的变化,检测其T细胞亚群并与慢性乙型肝炎患者进行比较。结果急性乙型肝炎早期患者HBV广泛抑制,两例患者HBV得到清除,随肝功能的恢复所有患者HBV DNA在较短时间内转阴、HBeAg与HBV DNA几乎同时转阴,肝功能恢复正常时有22例患者HBeAg发生血清学转换,11例患者HBsAg转阴,2例发生HBsAg血清学转换。急性乙型肝炎患者CD3 细胞、CD4 细胞高于慢性乙型肝炎患者,但差异无统计学意义,而CD8 细胞则显著高于慢性乙型肝炎患者(t=2.382,P<0.05)。结论非细胞毒机制在急性乙型肝炎早期HBV DNA的清除中具有重要作用,特异性细胞免疫反应对彻底清除HBV DNA、防止感染慢性化起更重要的作用。     

Management of antiviral-resistant chronic hepatitis B virus infection

Substantial progress has been made in the treatment of chronic hepatitis B during the past decade. Nucleos(t)ide analogues are now widely used due to their convenience, less side effects, and considerable response rates. However, development of antiviral resistance is a major problem being considered as the most important factor for the treatment failure. Viral breakthrough associated with selection of antiviral-resistant hepatitis B virus (HBV) is usually followed by biochemical breakthrough, clinical deterioration, and even progressive liver failure. Therefore, appropriate management of antiviral resistance is critical for improving treatment outcomes. Strategies for the management of antiviral-resistant chronic HBV infection are described herein considering recently published guidelines. Lamivudine/telbivudine resistance can be managed by adding adefovir. Switching to adefovir or entecavir is also a viable option. However, careful follow-up of viral load is mandatory to detect any primary or secondary treatment failure in case of sequential monotherapy. Interferon or peg-interferon therapy can also be considered in case of young patients with compensated liver disease. For adefovir resistance, lamivudine can be added, but adding or switching to entecavir is a more reasonable option. Likewise, adding or switching to adefovir can be considered for entecavir resistance. Adding or switching to tenofovir needs to be considered upon availability. Experiences for clevudine resistance are still lacking, and need to be studied further upon the isolation of clinically resistant strains. To avoid emergence of resistant mutations, antiviral therapy should be initiated after careful balance of risk and benefit, and the most potent antiviral agent with the lowest resistance rate should be selected.     

拉米夫定治疗前后乙型肝炎病毒P区基因的动态变化

目的研究拉米夫定治疗前后慢性乙型肝炎患者体内乙型肝炎病毒P基因区的变异情况。方法从5例慢性乙型肝炎患者拉米夫定治疗前和治疗12个月的血清标本中，扩增目的片段，阳性结果双酶切后克隆至JM105感受态细胞。每份标本随机挑取20个阳性克隆，以错配聚合酶链反应一限制性片段长度多态性分析法检测YMDD基因序列，出现变异者进行双向测序。结果5例慢性乙型肝炎患者在拉米夫定治疗12个月后，其中2例HBVDNA为阴性，2例HBVDNA转阴后又转阳，测序结果提示出现M5521变异；1例HBVDNA始终阳性，和治疗前一样存在D553G的变异。结论D553G变异可能是慢性乙型肝炎患者拉米夫定治疗无效的原因之一，拉米夫定治疗后出现的乙型肝炎病毒基因组P区YMDD变异是抗病毒药物诱导的结果。     

Investigation of immune escape-associated mutations of hepatitis B virus in patients harboring hepatitis B virus drug-resistance mutations

BACKGROUND It is unclear whether immune escape-associated mutations in the major hydrophilic region of hepatitis B virus surface antigen(HBsAg) are associated with nucleoside/nucleotide analog resistance.AIM To evaluate the association between immune escape-associated mutations and nucleoside/nucleotide analog resistance mutations.METHODS In total, 19440 patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection, who underwent resistance testing at the Fifth Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital between July 2007 and December 2017, were enrolled. As determined by sequence analysis, 6982 patients harbored a virus with resistance mutations and 12458 harbored a virus lacking resistance mutations. Phenotypic analyses were performed to evaluate HBsAg production, replication capacity, and drug-induced viral inhibition of patient-derived drug-resistant mutants with or without the coexistence of sA159V.RESULTS The rate of immune escape-associated mutation was significantly higher in 9 of the 39 analyzed mutation sites in patients with resistance mutations than in patients without resistance mutations. In particular, these mutations were sQ101H/K/R, sS114A/L/T, sT118A/K/M/R/S/V, sP120A/L/Q/S/T, sT/I126A/N/P/S, sM133I/L/T, sC137W/Y, sG145A/R, and sA159G/V. Among these, sA159V was detected in 1.95%(136/6982) of patients with resistance mutations and 1.08%(134/12,458) of patients lacking resistance mutations(P 0.05). The coexistence of sA159V with lamivudine(LAM) and entecavir(ETV)-resistance mutations in the same viral genome was identified during follow-up in some patients with drug resistance. HBsAg production was significantly lower and the replication capacity was significantly higher, without a significant difference in LAM/ETV susceptibility, in sA159V-containing LAM/ETV-resistant mutants than in their sA159V-lacking counterparts.CONCLUSION In summary, we observed a close link between the increase in certain immune escape-associated mutations and the development of resistance mutations. sA159 V might increase the fitness of LAM/ETV-resistant mutants under environmental pressure in some cases.     

Trends of hepatitis B virus genotype distribution in chronic hepatitis B patients in Japan

Journal of Gastroenterology - Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is one of the most prevalent chronic viral infections that causes chronic hepatitis B (CHB). In Japan, genotypes B and C account for most of...     

Comparable ten-year outcome in hemodialysis patients with hepatitis C virus and hepatitis B virus coinfection and single hepatitis B virus infection

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) coinfection in comparison with single HBV infection causes more severe liver disease in nonuremic population. The long-term impact of HBV/HCV coinfection on severity of liver diseases and patient survival in hemodialysis patients is unclear. Forty-eight HBV-positive patients and 19 HBV/HCV-positive patients were followed up from February 1996 to September 2006. During 10-year follow-up, there was no difference in acute hepatitis episodes, abnormal serum alanine aminotransferase period, occurrence of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, and patient survival between the two groups. The serum HBV DNA levels in HBV/HCV-positive patients were significantly lower than those in HBV-positive patients during the first 27-month follow-up. In conclusion, HCV infection suppresses the serum HBV DNA level in hemodialysis patients. Nevertheless, HBV/HCV coinfection in comparison with single HBV infection does not cause more severe liver diseases or reduce patient survival in hemodialysis patients during 10-year follow-up.