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Expression of HBsAg and HBcAg in liver tissue: correlation with disease activity
L Nakopoulou1, N Adraskelas, K Stefanaki
1Department of Pathology, Medical School, University of Athens, Greece.
Insights
Hepatitis B antigen patterns in liver biopsies reveal distinct expressions. Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in scattered cells indicates active disease, while clustered HBsAg suggests inactive chronic Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection.
Area of Science:
- Hepatology
- Virology
- Immunohistochemistry
Background:
- Chronic Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection affects millions globally.
- Understanding viral antigen expression in liver tissue is crucial for disease classification.
- Immunohistochemistry provides insights into viral protein localization within hepatocytes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the differential expression patterns of Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and Hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg) in chronic HBV liver disease.
- To correlate these antigen expression patterns with disease activity (active vs. inactive).
Main Methods:
- Analysis of liver biopsies from 41 patients with chronic HBV disease.
- Utilized immunohistochemical methods on deparaffinized liver sections.
- Identified and localized HBsAg and HBcAg within hepatocytes.
Main Results:
- Inactive liver disease (51.2%) showed clustered cytoplasmic HBsAg in numerous hepatocytes and rare nuclear HBcAg.
- Active liver disease (48.8%) exhibited diffuse cytoplasmic HBsAg in scattered hepatocytes and frequent nuclear HBcAg (70%).
- HBcAg was also found in the cytoplasm in half of the positive active disease cases.
Conclusions:
- Scattered HBsAg expression correlates with active HBV liver disease and positive HBcAg.
- Clustered cytoplasmic HBsAg expression is associated with inactive chronic HBV liver disease and negative HBcAg.
- Antigen localization patterns aid in differentiating active from inactive chronic Hepatitis B.
Abstract:
The patterns of Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and Hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg) expression were studied in liver biopsies taken from 41 patients with chronic HBV disease. Immunohistochemical methods were used on deparaffinized sections for the identification of HBsAg and HBcAg in liver tissue. Twenty-one of the 41 cases (51.2%) were classified as inactive liver disease and 20 (48.8%) as active liver disease. In liver biopsies with inactive disease, HBsAg demonstrated varying types of cytoplasmic expression in a rather high number of hepatocytes distributed mainly in clusters, while HBcAg was rarely expressed in liver nuclei. On the other hand, in liver biopsies with active disease HBsAg was characterized by a diffuse cytoplasmic expression in a few discrete hepatocytes, while HBcAg was expressed in the nuclei of the hepatocytes in 70% of the cases and in half of the positive cases it was also detected in the cytoplasm. In conclusion, HBsAg expression in a few scattered hepatocytes correlates with active liver disease and positive HBcAg, while varying HBsAg cytoplasmic expression in a rather high number of clustered hepatocytes is related to chronic inactive liver disease and negative expression of HBcAg.