[An immunohistochemical study on pre-S proteins of hepatitis B virus]

An indirect immunohistochemical technique was established to detect pre-S1 and pre-S2 proteins in liver with monoclonal antibodies, and altogether 80 samples of liver were studied. Under light microscope, pre-S1 and pre-S2 were known to be expressed in a similar way and might be divided into three patterns: diffusion type, inclusion type and membrane type. Membranous type expression of both pre-S1 and pre-S2 was associated with activity of the liver diseases and liver cell necrosis. Pre-S1 and Pre-S2 were also expressed in several samples of hepatocellular carcinoma.