Furuta S, Kiyosawa K, Nagata A, Koike Y, Sahara T, Furukawa K, Iijima Y, Yamamura S, Komatsu H, Kawahara K, Miura M, Gibo Y, Sodeyama K, Oda M, Tsuda F, Akahane Y, Mayumi M. Clinical significance of e-antigen/anti-e, with special reference to HBc-antigen in the liver.
GASTROENTEROLOGIA JAPONICA 1977;
12:460-5. [PMID:
608568 DOI:
10.1007/bf02781338]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
e-antigen and anti-e were assayed in sera of asymptomatic HBs-Ag carriers and of patients with liver diseases. Thirteen out of 34 (38.2%) asymptomatic carriers were positive for e-antigen, which was in sharp contrast to the reports from USA and Europe. e-antigen was detected to a greater extent in patients with chronic active hepatitis, reversely anti-e in patients with chronic persistent hepatitis. However, e-antigen was found rarely in patients with cirrhosis and never in 23 cases with hepatoma positive for HBs-Ag. HBc-Ag in the liver was detected in 4 out of 8 e-antigen positive asymptomatic carriers and in 4 out of 5 patients with chronic liver diseases with e-antigen respectively, and moreover in 3 out of 14 anti-e positive cases, so that the presence of anti-e did not necessarily mean the negativity of HBc-Ag in the liver. Anti-HBc titer, however, was lower in anti-e positive sera than in e-antigen positive ones. This may implicate the decreased replication of HBV in cases with anti-e. These results emphasize that the investigation of e-antigen/anti-e is mandatory for the evaluation of the prognosis of asymptomatic carriers and of patients with chronic hepatitis.
Collapse