Cases of hepatitis virus infection in Japanese recipients of blood transfusions were serologically and clinically analyzed after the introduction of laboratory screening of donor blood for hepatitis B surface antigen by counter immunoelectrophoresis. Non-A, non-B hepatitis occurred in 116 (10.7%) and hepatitis type B in nine (0.9%) of the 1,082 recipients. The incubation period of the post-transfusion non-A, non-B hepatitis cases varied from two to 33 weeks, but most occurred within 15 weeks. In 97 (83.6%) of the 116 cases of non-A, non-B hepatitis studied, the duration of abnormal elevation of the level of serum alanine aminotransferase (glutamic-pyruvic transaminase [SGPT]) was 16 weeks. The cases of non-A, non-B hepatitis could be divided into three groups according to the pattern of elevation of SGPT levels. These findings may suggest either a multiple etiology for non-A, non-B hepatitis or a variety of clinical symptoms with a single etiology for the infection.
SUMMARYThe content and composition of carbohydrate in hepatitis B surface antigen HB~Ag) were clarified by gas chromatography. A value of 75"8/zg carbohydrate per nag of protein was obtained. The main components were N-acetylglucosamine, mannose, galactose and sialic acid and the minor one was fucose. No N-acetylgalactosamine was detected. The fact that no sugar was detected in lipid fractions suggests that the sugar in HBsAg exists almost exclusively in the form of glycoprotein and there is no glycolipid.
Reduction of Australia antigen with dithiothreitol resulted in the loss of antigenicity and morphological integrity. Oxidation of the reduced Australia antigen reconstituted both of these characters.
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