e-Antigen: a link between immune response and infectivity in hepatitis B?
| Autor: | Helen T. Green, Vivian D. Blundell, G. C. Turner |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 1978 |
| Předmět: |
Hepatitis B virus
HBsAg Hepatitis B Surface Antigens biology Immunology Public Health Environmental and Occupational Health DNA-Directed DNA Polymerase Hepatitis B Active immunization medicine.disease medicine.disease_cause Virology Virus Immunity Active Immune system Antigen medicine biology.protein Humans Antibody Immunity Maternally-Acquired Research Article |
| Zdroj: | Journal of Hygiene. 81:405-414 |
| ISSN: | 0022-1724 |
| DOI: | 10.1017/s0022172400025298 |
| Popis: | SummaryIn a study of the distribution of e-antigen and anti-e in subjects whose blood was positive for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), patients with acute hepatitis B who were tested during the incubation period were all e-antigen-positive but after the onset of illness e-antigen was detected in only 11%. Persistence, and in some instances reappearance of e-antigen in those who became long-term carriers of HBsAg was associated with high titres of HBsAg. There was a high incidence of e-antigen in those conditions in which cell-mediated immunity may be depressed, including Down's syndrome and chronic renal failure.The majority of HBsAg carriers identified as sources of infection were e-antigen-positive. A positive reaction for e-antigen is evidently associated with a defective immune response to hepatitis B virus infection which permits continued replication of virus in liver cells accompanied by high titres of HBsAg, numerous Dane particles and detectable DNA polymerase in the blood with consequently a greater likelihood of transmitting infection.Although it cannot be assumed that anti-e positive carriers of HBsAg are not infective, it may be necessary, in the assessment of passive or active immunization for the control of hepatitis B, to take into account the e-antigen/antibody status of possible sources of infection. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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