Relationship of Subtypes of Hepatitis B Surface Antigen with e Antigen and Its Corresponding Antibody

Abstract

A total of 3,212 samples of blood from asymptomatic volunteer donors positive for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) by radioimmunoassay and 860 samples negative for HBsAg were tested for the presence of hepatitis e antigen (HBeAg) and its corresponding antibody (anti-HBe) using a rheophoresis technique. Neither HBeAg nor anti-HBe was detected in any sample negative for HBsAg. Of the HBsAg-positive samples, 237 (7.4%) contained HBeAg and 749 (23.3%) had anti-HBe. HBeAg was significantly (P less than or equal to 0.0005) more likely to be in samples with high titers of HBsAg. Anti-HBe had an equal chance of occurring in samples with low or high titers of HBsAg. Both HBeAg and anti-HBe were found in samples with HBsAg subtypes ad or ay. However, a significant association (P less than or equal to 0.0005) between HBsAg/ay and HBeAg as well as an association between anti-HBe and HBsAg/ad was found.

A New Antigenic Determinant on HBsAg

“…In previous studies, an associa tion between HBeAg or its antibody and an antigenic marker of HBsAg has been re ported [7,22], We have confirmed the ob servation of Nath et al [22] of an associa tion of anti-HBe with the d determinant and the observation of Couroucé-Pauty and Plançon [7] of an excess of HBeAg in asso ciation with the r determinant. However, among the samples analyzed in the present study, 8 of the 15 r+ HBeAg-positive sam ples were from preteen and teen-aged chil dren in the Solomon Islands.…”

“…Thus, the asso ciation noted in our samples may be one of HBeAg with the age of the carrier [24] and not with a particular antigenic marker of HBsAg. In addition, we found an associa tion of HBeAg with the l determinant and possibly of anti-HBe with the absence of l. In a larger study of antigen specimens from the United States Red Cross donor popula tion, an association of HBeAg with the y determinant was reported [22], Couroucé-Pauty and Plançon [7] noted that HBeAg and anti-HBe were more prevalent in ad type antigens. Among the samples analyzed in the present study, 54.8% of ad and 46.3% of ay samples contained either HBeAg or anti-HBe (x2 = 1.38).…”

Reexamination of hepatitis B virus subtypes and e‐antigen expression by radioimmunoassays

“…Nath et al [ 19781 studied sera from American HBsAg-positive blood donors using a hemagglutination method for HBV subtyping and rheophoresis (a modification of the immunodiffusion method) for HBeAg/anti-HBe testing. While they also found that anti-HBe was more prevalent among ad than ay carriers, they observed, in contrast to Courouci-Pauty and Plancon's [ 19781 findings, that HBeAg was significantly more common in ay than ad carriers [Nath et al, 1978]. * In the present study, in which both HBeAg/anti-HBe and HBV subtype were determined by RIA, the association of adw2 with anti-HBe was again found, as was the association of the major y-type virus (ayw3) with HBeAg as reported by Nath et al [1978].…”

“…There is a considerable body of published studies from areas of the world where both adw2 and ayw3 strains of HBV are prevalent, suggesting that ay infections predominate among patients with acute type B hepatitis, while ad infections are more common among chronic HBV carriers, with or without liver disease [Holland et al, *We suggest the possibility that the approach taken by Nath et al [1978] led to the exclusion of all uyw2-type sera. Our experience (unpublished) has been that if one immunizes an animal with serum containing HBV/udw2, a viral strain which bears both the dand g antigenic determinants, the antiserum produced can be expected to contain both anti-d and anti-g, as well as anti-a.…”

“…The e antigen expression is a usual consequence of HBV replication, and the likelihood that an HBV carrier at any one time will have HBeAg or anti-HBe appears to be related to a variety of host and viral factors including age [Sasaki et al, 1979; Barr et al, 1979; Realdi et al, 19801, sex [Sasaki et al, 1979), duration of infection [Realdi et al, 19801, immunologic competence [Miller et al, 19781, genetic background [Okada et al, 19741, presence of active liver disease [Nielsen et al, 1974;Cappel et al, 19771, and the subtype (strain) of the infecting HBV. The latter issue, the relationship between HBV subtype and the presence of HBeAg or anti-HBe, has previously been considered by several investigators [Magnius and Espmark, 1972;CouroucC-Pauty and Plancon, 1978;Nath et al, 1978;Aldershvile et al, 1980;Tabor et al, 19801. The conclusions reached in those studies have not been in complete agreement.…”