Search results for "Hepatitis B viru"

From viral pathobiology to the treatment of hepatitis B virus infection EASL Monothematic Conference (Istanbul, Turkey, October 6-8, 2005).

2006

Hepatitis B virus infection, which was for over a decade put aside by the rising star of hepatitis C, has seen over the last years a resurgence of interest. This stemmed from a better knowledge of the virus itself, from the availability of new drugs and combinations, and from the realization that far from being eradicated by mass immunization programs HBV is still on a worldwide basis the major cause of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, alone or in combinations with other viruses, alcohol andmetabolic cofactors. This prompted the EASL Scientific Committee to organize a Monothematic Conference on HBV. Experts from Europe, USA, Canada, Australia, the Far East and other parts of the worl…

Interferon alfa for chronic hepatitis B infection: Increased efficacy of prolonged treatment

1999

Interferon alfa (IFN-alpha) is the primary treatment for chronic hepatitis B. The standard duration of IFN-alpha therapy is considered 16 weeks; however, the optimal treatment length is still poorly defined. We evaluated the efficacy and acceptability of prolonged IFN-alpha treatment in patients with chronic hepatitis B. To investigate whether treatment prolongation could enhance the rate of hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) seroconversion, we conducted a prospective, controlled, multicenter trial in which all patients were treated with a standard regimen of 10 million units IFN-alpha 3 times per week over 16 weeks. Patients who were still HBeAg-positive after 16 weeks of therapy were randomize…

Occult hepatitis B virus infection and hepatocellular carcinoma development in patients with chronic hepatitis C

2011

Myristylation is involved in intracellular retention of hepatitis B virus envelope proteins

1991

The envelope of hepatitis B virus contains three related proteins, one of which is myristylated. The nonmyristylated small and middle protein are assembled into empty envelope particles which are secreted from cells, whereas the myristylated large envelope protein is mainly found in complete virions and is not secreted in the absence of the nucleocapsid. The block to secretion can be partially overcome by mutation or deletion of the myristylation site. Creation of a myristyl attachment site in the small protein impairs the secretion of empty envelope particles but not their intracellular assembly. Myristylation may therefore play a crucial role in hepatitis B virus replication by channeling…

Mosaic particles formed by wild-type hepatitis B virus core protein and its deletion variants consist of both homo- and heterodimers.

2003

AbstractCo-expression in Escherichia coli of wild-type (wt) hepatitis B virus core protein (HBc) and its naturally occurring variants with deletions at amino acid positions 77–93 or 86–93 leads to formation of mosaic particles, which consist of three dimer subunit compositions. These compositions are wt/variant HBc heterodimers and two types of homodimers, formed by wt HBc or the variant HBc themselves. Mosaic particles were found also when both HBc deletion variants 77–93 and 86–93 were co-expressed in E. coli. These findings are discussed in terms of their significance for hepatitis B virus pathogenesis and prospective use of mosaic particles in vaccine development.

Novel artemisinin derivatives with potential usefulness against liver/colon cancer and viral hepatitis.

2013

Antitumor and antiviral properties of the antimalaria drug artemisinin from Artemisia annua have been reported. Novel artemisinin derivatives (AD1-AD8) have been synthesized and evaluated using in vitro models of liver/colon cancer and viral hepatitis B and C. Cell viability assays after treating human cell lines from hepatoblastoma (HepG2), hepatocarcinoma (SK-HEP-1), and colon adenocarcinoma (LS174T) with AD1-AD8 for a short (6h) and long (72h) period revealed that AD5 combined low acute toxicity together with high antiproliferative effect (IC50=1-5μM). Since iron-mediated activation of peroxide bond is involved in artemisinin antimalarial activity, the effect of iron(II)-glycine sulfate …

Liver diseases and hepatitis B virus antigens and antibodies in chronic HBsAg carriers in childhood

1980

Liver biopsies were obtained from 109 children who had been chronic carriers of HBsAg for more than 6 months. The specimens were examined for the presen Ice of intracellular HBsAg, HBcAg and HBeAg by direct immunofluorescence. Sera were tested for HBeAg, virus B specific DNA polymerase, anti-HBs, anti-HBe and anti-HBc. On the basis of accepted histological criteria we found chronic active hepatitis (CAH) in 56 and chronic persistent hepatitis (CPH) in 19 children. 15 cases had minimal changes (minimal hepatitis, MH) and 19 normal liver tissue (healthy HBsAg carriers, HC). Children with CAH and CPH had HBeAg, DNA polymerase and anti-HBc in their serum. HBcAg and HBeAg were found in 5-50% of …

Hepatitis B Virus Reactivation and Alemtuzumab Therapy.

2004

Abstract Reactivation of hepatitis B virus infection in subjects receiving cytotoxic treatment for haematological malignancies occurs in 21–53% of chronic HBsAg carriers and in an unknown number of HBsAg negative subjects harbouring occult HBV infection. Immunotherapy with alemtuzumab, a humanized monoclonal antibody against CD52 on lymphoid cells, produces deep immunosuppression. We describe two subjects with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and occult HBV infection who developed a virological and biochemical flare of hepatitis B following immunotherapy with alemtuzumab. One of them developed a full blown hepatitis with seroreversion from anti-HBs to HBsAg after four weeks of alemtuzumab. Lam…

Pilot study of natural human interleukin-2 in patients with chronic hepatitis B

1993

Ten patients with chronic hepatitis B received increasing doses of nIL-2 (30 000 U, 100 000 U, 300 000 U, 1.0 million U) subcutaneously in a phase I trial. Each dose was applied once per week over 3 weeks. Serum samples were taken before and 2, 12, 24, 48 and 72 h after the first application of each dose level. Serum concentrations of interleukin-1 (IL-1), IL-2, IL-6, interferon-alfa (IFN- α ), IFN- γ , tumor necrosis factor- α (TNF- α ) and GM-CSF as well as the cytokine-dependent serum components neopterin, beta-2-microglobulin (B2M), C-reactive protein (CPR), soluble IL-2-receptor (sIL-2R) and 2′-5′-oligoadenylate synthetase (2–5 OA) were assayed using ELISAs and RIAs. None of the sample…

The asialoglycoprotein receptor mediates hepatic binding and uptake of natural hepatitis B virus particles derived from viraemic carriers.

1994

As a putative mechanism of hepatitis B virus (HBV) uptake into hepatocytes the interaction between HBV and the hepatic, human-derived asialoglycoprotein receptor (ASGPR) was investigated. Sera from patients with different variations of hepatitis B surface antigen-(HBsAg) positive chronic hepatitis, HBV particles isolated from HBV carriers with high-titre viraemia and commercial HBsAg served as sources of HBV. ASGPR was affinity-purified from human liver. HBV that had bound to isolated ASGPR was either detected by radio-immunoassay using solid-phase bound ASGPR or enzyme immunoassay with biotin-ASGPR bound to immobilized HBV. Furthermore, binding and uptake of purified, 125I-labelled HBV par…