An ultrastructural and immunohistochemical study on the delta antigen associated with the hepatitis B virus

Thirteen liver biopsies in which the delta antigen was detected by immunofluorescence were studied by electron microscopy and immune electron microscopy with peroxidase labelled IgG and F(ab1)2 fraction obtained from a human antiserum containing high-titre anti-delta antibodies. The findings were compared with those obtained in 11 HBcAg positive and in two HBsAg negative controls. Neither unique particulate morphology nor any HB virus ultrastructural component were visualised in the delta positive specimens; 20-23 nm naked core particles were observed in 10 of 11 biopsies displaying the HBcAg in immunofluorescence. Delta positive nuclei frequently contained dense round structures of diameter varying between 20 and 30 nm with a soft indistinct edge. These granules did not exhibit characteristic ultrastructural features which enabled them to be distinguished from other granular material observed occasionally in nuclei of normal and diseased livers. However, their association with the delta antigen has been proved by the deposition on identical structures of peroxidase labelled anti-delta antibody. These results suggest that the delta antigen is unrelated to the Dane particle, the putative HB virus. The granules observed in the delta positive nuclei are composed of an amorphous matrix, possibly insoluble aggregates of the delta antigen.