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- Title
Early upsurge in anti-HBs titer possibly caused by the immunomodulative, not by the mutagenetic effect of interferon and ribavirin.
- Authors
Yamazaki, Kazuhide; Ohkoshi, Shogo; Maruyama, Masaki; Yo-hei Aoki; Yano, Masahiko; Kurita, So; Suzuki, Kenta; Matsuda, Yasunobu; Sugimura, Kazuhito; Aoyagi, Yutaka
- Abstract
A patient with chronic hepatitis B and C undergoing treatment with interferon and ribavirin showed an upsurge in hepatitis B virus surface antibody (anti-HBs) titer, accompanied by a decrease in hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg) during the early treatment phase. Simultaneously, elevation of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) was observed. Subsequently, the hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA titer decreased and HBV e antigen (HBeAg) to anti-HBe seroconversion occurred. The anti-HBs titer gradually returned to the pretreatment level after cessation of ribavirin treatment and HBV-DNA became undetectable. We found no nucleotide mutations in HBV-DNA that could explain the sudden elevation in anti-HBs titer. The appearance of anti-HBs was considered to be a break in immune tolerance against some epitopes in HBsAg, possibly the r epitope, stimulated by interferon/ribavirin treatment. The immunomodulatory effect of ribavirin might have caused this unexpected early immune response to HBsAg that preceded seroconversion to anti-HBe.
- Subjects
HEPATITIS B virus; INTERFERONS; RIBAVIRIN; ANTIMETABOLITES; ANTIVIRAL agents
- Publication
Hepatology Research, 2007, Vol 37, Issue 6, p477
- ISSN
1386-6346
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1111/j.1872-034X.2007.00059.x