AN6520 Ag: an antigen purified from liver with non-A, non-B hepatitis

An extract prepared from the liver of patient with chronic non-A, non-B (NANB) hepatitis was found to produce a precipitin line in immunodiffusion with a serum from a multiply transfused patient and those from patients convalescent from NANB hepatitis. The antigen was purified by gel filtration and density gradient centrifugation. The antigen had a buoyant density of 1.16-1.20 g/cm3 in cesium chloride, a sedimentation coefficient (S20,w) of 51.5, and a molecular weight of larger than 1.5 X 10(6) daltons. Electron microscopic examination revealed particles 29-34 nm in diameter (average 31.5 nm), which could be agglutinated by the specific antiserum. We developed a reverse passive hemagglutination (R-PHA) and a passive hemagglutination (PHA) technique for detection of the new antigen and antibody, respectively, and applied these to human sera. Antibody to the antigen was detected in 19/28 (67.9%) convalescent sera of NANB hepatitis. This prevalence was significantly higher than those found in convalescent sera of type A hepatitis patients (2/17 = 11.8%), type B hepatitis patients (2/15 = 13.3%), and normal blood donors (9/129 = 7.0%) (p less than 0.01); and the prevalence in hepatitis A and B patients did not differ significantly from that of normal donors. Furthermore, most (66.7%) of the cases of NANB hepatitis endemic in Shimizu City, Japan, showed clear seroconversion with respect to this antibody. These results suggest that the new antigen/antibody system is associated with NANB hepatitis.