Euroasian journal of hepato-gastroenterology

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VOLUME 5 , ISSUE 1 ( January-June, 2015 ) > List of Articles

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Hepatitis B Core Antigen in Hepatocytes of Chronic Hepatitis B: Comparison between Indirect Immunofluorescence and Immunoperoxidase Method

Munira Jahan, Shahina Tabassum, Mamun Al-Mahtab, Afzalun Nessa, Chowdhury Mohammad Shamim Kabir, Mohammad Kamal, Julio Cesar Aguilar

Citation Information : Jahan M, Tabassum S, Al-Mahtab M, Nessa A, Mohammad Shamim Kabir C, Kamal M, Cesar Aguilar J. Hepatitis B Core Antigen in Hepatocytes of Chronic Hepatitis B: Comparison between Indirect Immunofluorescence and Immunoperoxidase Method. Euroasian J Hepatogastroenterol 2015; 5 (1):7-10.

DOI: 10.5005/jp-journals-10018-1120

License: CC BY-NC 4.0

Published Online: 01-06-2017

Copyright Statement:  Copyright © 2015; The Author(s).


Abstract

Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection has many faces. Precore and core promoter mutants resemble inactive carrier status. The identification of hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg) in hepatocytes may have variable clinical significance. The present study was undertaken to detect HBcAg in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients and to assess the efficacy of detection system by indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) and indirect immunoperoxidase (IIP). Materials and methods: The study was done in 70 chronic HBV-infected patients. Out of 70 patients, eight (11.4%) were hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) positive and 62 (88.57%) were HBeAg negative. Hepatitis B core antigen was detected by indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) and indirect immunoperoxidase (IIP) methods in liver tissue. Results: All HBeAg positive patients expressed HBcAg by both IIF and IIP methods. Out of 62 patients with HBeAg-negative CHB, HBcAg was detected by IIF in 55 (88.7%) patients and by IIP in 51 (82.26%) patients. A positive relation among viral load and HBcAg detection was also found. This was more evident in the case of HBeAg negative patients and showed a positive relation with HBV DNA levels. Conclusion: Hepatitis B core antigen can be detected using the IIF from formalin fixed paraffin block preparation and also by IIP method. This seems to reflect the magnitudes of HBV replication in CHB.


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