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Updated: May 29, 2026
Analysis of HBV-Specific CD4 T-cell Responses and Identification of HLA-DR-Restricted CD4 T-Cell Epitopes Based on a Peptide Matrix
Published on: October 20, 2021
Mass spectrometry-based plasma peptide profiling of acute exacerbation in HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis B
Eric C Han1, Ying-Shiung Lee, Yu-Ching Liu
1Department of Medical Research, China Medical University Hospital, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan.
Background:
Acute exacerbations (AE) of serum alanine aminotransferase activities that are 5 times above the normal upper limit frequently occur during the immune clearance phase of hepatitis Be antigen (HBeAg)-positive chronic hepatitis B (CHB). It is unclear how the varying clinical severities of AE reflect differences in the underlying immune responses against the hepatitis B virus.
Methods:
We utilized magnetic bead-based purification methods coupled with MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry to generate plasma peptide profiles from HBeAg-positive CHB patients experiencing AE without and with clinical decompensation.
Results:
Hydrophobic interaction chromatography (HIC C18) provided a more discriminatory spectral profile than immobilized Cu(2+) metal ion affinity chromatography did for diagnosis of a clinical spectrum of AEs. Using the sorting algorithm, Support Vector Machine, a classification model consisting of 5 classifiers was determined to give a sensitivity of 94.7% and a specificity of 75% for differentiating patients with and without decompensation. Classifiers identified as fragments derived from transthyretin and apolipoprotein A-IV were significantly decreased and increased in patients with decompensation, respectively.
Conclusions:
Our study demonstrated that HIC C18 fractionation coupled with MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry can be used for differentiating AE with and without decompensation in patients with HBeAg-positive CHB.
