- 现金
- 62111 元
- 精华
- 26
- 帖子
- 30437
- 注册时间
- 2009-10-5
- 最后登录
- 2022-12-28
|
Review article: hepatitis B core-related antigen (HBcrAg): an emerging marker for chronic hepatitis B virus infection
L.-Y. Mak1, D. K.-H. Wong1,2, K.-S. Cheung1, W.-K. Seto1,2, C.-L. Lai1,2 andM.-F. Yuen1,2,*
Version of Record online: 16 OCT 2017
DOI: 10.1111/apt.14376
© 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd
Issue
Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics
Volume 47, Issue 1, pages 43–54, January 2018
Article has an altmetric score of 13
1 Department of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
2 State Key Laboratory for Liver Research, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Email: M.-F. Yuen ([email protected])
* Correspondence
Prof. Man-Fung Yuen, Department of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong.
Email: [email protected]
Funding information
None.
The Handling Editor for this article was Professor Geoffrey Dusheiko, and this uncommissioned review was accepted for publication after full peer-review.
Summary
Background
Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) cannot be completely eradicated due to the presence of covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) in the nuclei of infected hepatocytes. While quantification of intrahepatic cccDNA requires liver biopsies, serological markers can be non-invasive alternatives to reflect intrahepatic viral replicative activity. Recently, hepatitis B core-related antigen (HBcrAg) has been advocated as a novel serum marker for disease monitoring and prognostication of CHB.
Aim
To examine the virological aspect and clinical application of HBcrAg with respect to the natural history and treatment of CHB.
Methods
We reviewed all papers published in the PubMed journal list and abstracts from major international meetings that included the keyword “HBcrAg” or “hepatitis B core-related antigen” until March 2017. Selected studies were compared and summarised on the basis of existing theories, as well as the authors’ experience.
Results
HBcrAg exhibited good correlation with intrahepatic (ih) cccDNA, ih total hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA, serum HBV DNA and to a lesser extent HBV surface antigen (HBsAg). In situations where serum HBV DNA levels become undetectable or HBsAg loss is achieved, HBcrAg can still be detectable. This marker is helpful in differentiation of HBeAg-negative chronic hepatitis from HBeAg-negative chronic infection, predicting spontaneous or treatment-induced HBeAg seroconversion, sustained response to nucleos(t)ide analogue (NA), risk of HBV reactivation in occult HBV infection under immunosuppressive therapies, and risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development as well as post-operative HCC recurrence.
Conclusions
HBcrAg is a potential surrogate marker of cccDNA. It may soon become a useful marker for disease monitoring, predicting treatment response and disease outcome of chronic hepatitis B.
|
|