Intrahepatic Expression of Serum Hepatitis Virus-Associated Antigens

Abstract

SH virus-associated antigens have been identified in the liver and blood by immunofluorescence. This antigenic expression of the hepatitis agent or its genome is found in the cytoplasm of hepatocytes and other cells of the liver. Acute hepatitis is associated with hepatocellular localization of SH antigen, whereas alternative or additional SH antigen in the cytoplasm of nonhepatocytes is observed in chronic or recurrent hepatitis. Persistent intrahepatic SH antigen has also been observed in conversion from acute to chronic hepatitis, and the persistence of this virus-associated antigen in the liver may serve a significant pathogenetic role in mediating direct anti-tissue responses as well as local immune complex reactions. Competitive inhibition studies of SH antigen suggest at least two antigenically and sterically independent determinants on the SH particle.

Mechanisms responsible for defective human T-lymphocyte sheep erythrocyte rosette function associated with hepatitis B virus infections.

“…It is modulated by alterations in intracellular levels of cyclic nucleotides (4); and it has been found by some to parallel certain other parameters of T-lymphocyte function including phytohemagglutinin responsiveness and delayed cutaneous hypersensitivity responses in selected studies of primary immunodeficiency states (5). The expression of ER function may serve as an index of the functional integrity of T lymphocytes, since it is defective in many disease states thought to be associated with altered or deficient cellular immune responsiveness such as malignancy (6), systemic lupus erythematosus (7), and viral hepatitis (8 (9). Indeed, a similar spectrum of disease states has been induced in chimpanzees after inoculation with a single pool of HBsAg-positive plasma (10).…”

“…Among 10 patients followed serially through the course of acute viral hepatitis B and recovery (Table IX) (9). The possibility that such defective lymphocytes might represent monocytes is rendered unlikely by the demonstrated effectiveness of the iron-dextran lymphocytes isolation method to reduce peroxidase-positive cells (18) to less than 1%.…”

Hepatitis B Virus Antigen Development in Cultured Human Hepatocytes

“…lF, in which the cytoplaslm of the hepatocyte is partially filled with diffuse, intensely staining antigen 38 days after exposure to acute-phase serum. Cytoplasmic hepatitis B antigen in hepatocytes of patients with HB antigenemia, dem-onstrated by inimunofluorescence methods, has been observed by a number of workers (17,22,23).…”

Recent advances in the identification of hepatitis viruses

“…As a result, four virus-determined major subtypes of HB,Ag are recognized: adw, ayw, adr, and ayr. In infected liver cells, HBsAg reactivity is localized to the cytoplasm (Edgington and Ritt, 1971), and 22-nm spheres can be detected there by electron microscopy (Huang et al, 1974).…”