Jun, 2007
Early upsurge in anti-HBs titer possibly caused by the immunomodulative, not by the mutagenetic effect of interferon and ribavirin
HEPATOLOGY RESEARCH
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- Volume
- 37
- Number
- 6
- First page
- 477
- Last page
- 481
- Language
- English
- Publishing type
- Research paper (scientific journal)
- DOI
- 10.1111/j.1872-034X.2004.00059.x
- Publisher
- BLACKWELL PUBLISHING
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.
- Link information
- ID information
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- DOI : 10.1111/j.1872-034X.2004.00059.x
- ISSN : 1386-6346
- Pubmed ID : 17539819
- Web of Science ID : WOS:000246793400012