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Hepatitis B Core-Related Antigen and New Therapies for Hepatitis B

Takehisa Watanabe1, Takako Inoue2, Yasuhito Tanaka1

  • 1Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto 860-8556, Japan.

Microorganisms
|October 23, 2021
PubMed

Insights

The novel hepatitis B core-related antigen (HBcrAg) shows promise as a biomarker for chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients. Monitoring HBcrAg may predict treatment response and disease progression, especially with new therapies.

Area of Science:

  • Hepatology
  • Virology
  • Biomarker Discovery

Background:

  • The hepatitis B core-related antigen (HBcrAg) is a novel biomarker for hepatitis B virus (HBV).
  • HBcrAg levels correlate with intrahepatic covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) and serum HBV DNA in chronic hepatitis B (CHB).

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the clinical applications of serum HBcrAg in CHB patients.
  • To highlight the role of HBcrAg in monitoring new therapies targeting intrahepatic HBV replication.

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing literature on HBcrAg clinical applications.
  • Discussion of novel anti-HBV therapies and HBcrAg's role in monitoring their efficacy.

Main Results:

  • HBcrAg is detectable even when serum HBV DNA is undetectable during anti-HBV therapy.
  • A sensitive HBcrAg assay (iTACT-HBcrAg) can monitor HBV reactivation and predict outcomes.
  • Decreased HBcrAg levels are linked to reduced risk of hepatocellular carcinoma progression or recurrence.

Conclusions:

  • Serum HBcrAg, particularly via the iTACT-HBcrAg assay, is a valuable surrogate marker in CHB.
  • HBcrAg aids in predicting disease progression and treatment response.
  • HBcrAg monitoring is crucial for evaluating the efficacy of novel HBV replication-targeting drugs.

Keywords:
HBcrAgchronic hepatitis Bhepatitis B core-related antigeniTACT-HBcrAgsilent cccDNA

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